International E-Waste Day: Enabling a Circular Economy through End-of-Waste Criteria for Photovoltaic Modules

The second International E-Waste Day took place on 14 October 2019 with the aim of promoting the correct disposal of electrical and electronic equipment. According to the WEEE Forum, only 20% of global e-waste is recycled each year, meaning that 40 million metric tons of e-waste ends up in landfill, burned or illegally exported and treated in a sub-standard way. The improper disposal of e-waste not only results in the loss of valuable and critical raw materials but can also lead to serious health, environmental and societal issues. While current solar photovoltaic (PV) waste stream volumes remain low due to the 25+ years lifetime of PV modules, annual PV waste volumes could represent 10% of global e-waste volumes by 2050. As the global deployment of solar approaches terawatt levels in an increasingly resource-constrained world, establishing high-value PV recycling infrastructure and enabling transboundary shipments of end-of-life PV modules will be key to promoting a circular economy and transforming PV waste into valuable secondary raw materials.

Recognizing the importance of responsible product life-cycle management, First Solar established the industry’s first global PV module recycling program in 2005 and has been proactively investing in high-value recycling technology improvements ever since. First Solar has embedded circular material flows for the key components used in its thin film PV technology to transform waste into resource - from raw material sourcing, through end-of-life recycling. At the beginning of the product’s life cycle, byproducts from the zinc and copper mining industries are converted into a leading eco-efficient PV technology which generates clean and reliable electricity for 25+ years. First Solar not only designs its thin film modules to withstand harsh climate conditions for 25+ years, but it also ensures that they are suited for high-value recycling to maximize material recovery at the end of a module’s useful life.

PV panels typically consist of glass, aluminum, copper and semiconductor materials that can be successfully recovered and reused at the end of their useful life. By mass, approximately 75% of a PV module consists of glass alone. While bulk recycling only focuses on recovering high-mass fraction materials such as glass, high-value recycling maximizes resource recovery by also recuperating energy intensive, valuable and environmentally sensitive materials, all of which are common in e-waste.  First Solar’s high-value recycling process recovers more than 90% of the semiconductor material for reuse in new First Solar panels and 90% of the glass for use in new glass container products. One kilogram of First Solar’s semiconductor material can be recycled 41 times over, which translates into a use time of more than 1,200 years assuming a 30-year panel life. In Malaysia, the recovered laminate material is reused in rubber products such as bicycle handles and shoe soles. 

Despite estimates that the recoverable value of PV could exceed $15 billion by 2050, current policies are not conducive to a circular economy and economical high-value PV recycling. The handling, transportation, disposal and recycling of end-of life PV modules is dependent on laws and waste characterization tests (such as the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure in the U.S.), which classify waste as non-hazardous or hazardous. Waste characterization tests and their procedures often vary by jurisdiction, which in turn affects the logistics and costs associated with transporting end-of-life PV modules for recycling. Rather than hindering the import and export of decommissioned PV modules needed for recycling to take place, PV recycling policies, which seek to promote a circular economy, should adopt end-of-waste criteria that recognize end-of-life modules as a secondary raw material.

As part of our vision of leading the world’s sustainable energy future, First Solar is committed to ensuring today’s clean energy solutions do not pose a future waste burden. Promoting waste management policies that recognize the recoverable value of PV and sustainability leadership standards that encourage high value PV recycling will both enable a circular economy and enhance the sustainability of the PV industry. Come join me at the E-Waste World Conference and Expo on November 14 in Frankfurt, Germany, where I will be speaking about the end-of-life management of PV modules and recycling technologies.