Knowledge: Solar PV
Eurotrash
Since 01 January the UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
Regulations has required the PV industry to finance the disposal and recycling of
solar panels. PV CYCLE UK has been supporting this process since 2013, explains
managing director Jan Clyncke
Enter new European obligations
The EU law states that producers of PV panels – all firms or individuals
manufacturing, selling, reselling or importing PV panels in a European
country – are now subject to the so-called Producer Responsibility.
That means they must organise and finance the waste collection and
management of used products.
In addition, the UK introduced a different system for distributors of
PV panels, companies selling panels to private households, to prevent
them from bearing costs related to the collection of other WEEE
consumer products with different treatment needs. Distributors will
be responsible for a PV-dedicated collection infrastructure exclusively
dedicated to solar panels. PV CYCLE has been given approval by the
UK secretary of state to operate the only take-back system outside of
the municipal collection system dedicated to PV panels.
To comply with the WEEE law, Producers of PV panels have a
number of responsibilities. Topping the list: a legal obligation to register
with a Compliance Scheme, reporting import or UK-manufactured
data to the authorities, taking financial responsibility for waste, and
informing end-customers and the general public about how they treat
their discarded panels. The collection and treatment must remain free
for end-users.
That’s where PV CYCLE comes in - which has been running its
own system for years, offering the most cost-efficient solution. On the
one hand, PV CYCLE has eleven collection points for customers with
small quantities of panels. For larger waste quantities, we arrange
ad-hoc pick-ups. Since we started our operations in 2010, we have
collected 9,225 tonnes of waste throughout Europe, 60 tonnes in the UK
alone.
Recycling techniques
The modules sold on the European market are based on two main
different technologies, silicon and non-silicon PV. Silicon-based
modules are largely made of flat glass and usually recycled in a glass
recycling line. After the manual dismantling of the aluminium frames
and junction boxes, the modules are then shredded, allowing the
recovery of up to 85 percent of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, glass,
silicon flakes and plastics. Glass is often reused as fibres, insulation and
packaging products.
The most common types of non-silicon based modules are
cadmium telluride modules (CdTe), copper indium selenide (CIS) and
copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS). In addition to a crushing
Salvage squad: PV CYCLE has collected 9,225 tonnes of PV panels for
recycling across the EU since 2010, a process now being funded by the PV
supply chain
process chemical baths dissolve the various semiconductors, which
are then sorted and processed in dedicated glass and semiconductor
recycling facilities, recovering up to 95 percent of such components.
PV Vs other electronic products
If you thought recycling PV panels is the same as any other WEEE
products, think again. PV panels cannot take advantage of municipal
collection points designed for other WEEE (radio, TVs, PCs) because
they are heavier and need to travel longer distances to reach the
recycling facilities. In addition, because the average lifespan of a panel
is +25 years, and the first installations of PV in Europe took place in the
‘90s, PV waste streams are still relatively low.
Therefore, PV CYCLE UK, a Producer Compliance Scheme
initiative of PV CYCLE, has been representing the PV sector to the
British government on WEEE matters, suggesting the recognition of
PV waste as a specific category, and campaigning to inform the sector
about its new obligations. Today, PV CYCLE UK is the only accredited
PV-focused Producer Compliance Scheme, supporting local PV
companies from a UK-based office opened in 2013.
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