The New South Wales (NSW) government has launched consultation on a proposal to introduce Australia’s first mandatory solar panel recycling scheme, aiming to ensure valuable solar panel materials are recovered, reused and recycled rather than being dumped.
Intended to divert thousands of tonnes of solar panel waste from landfill, the proposed product stewardship scheme would require solar manufacturers and importers supplying regulated PV panels into NSW to help fund collection, recycling and resource recovery across the state.
Government data shows NSW is home to more than 1.18 million rooftop solar systems and as they age, and as households increasingly upgrade to higher efficiency panels, waste volumes of PV panels are projected to increase sharply over the next two decades. About 14,000 tonnes of solar panel waste is generated in the state each year, and that figure is forecast to rise to 89,000 tonnes by 2045.
“Current disposal pathways are insufficient to safely and sustainably manage this growing waste stream,” the NSW Environment Protection Agency said in its consultation paper. “Most end-of-life PV panels continue to be landfilled, stockpiled or illegally dumped.”
NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said the proposed regulation is not simply about reducing waste, but is also about capturing valuable resources and creating new economic opportunities.
“NSW has embraced rooftop solar, and now we’re making sure those panels don’t become tomorrow’s landfill problem,” she said. “Solar panels contain valuable materials that can be recovered and put back to work.”
“A mandatory product stewardship scheme can help build a circular economy for solar panels, while supporting new recycling and manufacturing opportunities here in NSW.”
Smart Energy Council (SEC) Chief Executive David McElrea said the proposed legislation provides a strong foundation for a circular economy but cautioned that state-level initiatives must be matched by a unified national framework led by the federal government.
“Ideally, states and territories won’t have to go it alone, because solar supply chains do not end at a border,” he said, adding that a patchwork of rules will be more inefficient and costly for consumers, business, industry and authorities.
“NSW is showing leadership, but unless transitioned into a Commonwealth scheme, over 70% of Australia’s decommissioned solar panels will remain uncaptured outside NSW,” he said.
“The federal government has to step up and deliver a national product stewardship framework to provide the scale, consistency, and certainty Australia needs.”
In addition to publishing the opening consultation on the draft regulation, the NSW government has released an issues paper seeking feedback on how the state can support the growth of solar panel recycling, remanufacturing and manufacturing industries.
Submissions on the draft regulation and issues paper are open until 16 November.
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