As solar panel waste grows, extra installation fee proposed to fund recycling
Solar panel waste is projected to reach about 90,000 tonnes a year by 2030. One of Australia's leading science organisations says a $10 fee per panel could help solve the problem.
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering has urged a national recycling program for solar panels, which would include an additional installation fee of approximately $10 per panel. This proposal was made during a federal inquiry into solar panel waste generation. However, experts have raised concerns that the cost of recycling the panels may exceed the funds generated by the fee due to transportation and logistics expenses.
Currently, only 17% of solar panels are recycled in Australia, despite one in three homes having rooftop solar installations. The federal government has set a target to generate 90,000 tonnes of solar panel waste annually by 2030, up from 60,000 tonnes in 2017. A national solar panel recycling pilot program, set to commence in mid-2026, has not yet begun due to procurement delays.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
