WA is ahead of the pack for solar uptake. But what happens to panels at the end of their lives?
The Western Australian government will donate $17.8 million to a program to recycle solar panels and lithium-ion batteries to recover valuable materials and reduce waste sent to landfill.
The Remade in WA program includes a $13 million investment to create new collection, transport and processing routes for end-of-life solar panels from both homes and solar farms.
Approximately $3 million will be used to support local governments in collecting embedded lithium-ion batteries, including those found in e-drivers and other home devices, while $1.8 million will be spent to implement programs.
Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said the state would rely on more renewable energy sources such as solar as the government moves towards the energy transition.
“Solar panels, of course, have a lifespan, and what happens with those panels is that they are largely, or historically, sent to landfills,” he said.
“The $17 million investment in Remade in WA will be an opportunity to support the Western Australian industry to gain greater momentum in recycling and reusing the solar panels on our system so they don’t end up in landfill.”
Swinbourn said the program would also reduce the risk of damage from disposing of lithium-ion batteries.
“As many of you know, lithium-ion batteries pose a risk to us in our waste stream; they tend to catch fire when damaged,” he said.
“What we’re doing with this $4 million program is supporting local government to have better controls on how we can specifically send these embedded batteries back into responsible reuse and recycling opportunities.”
