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New Jersey regulators are proposing to designate solar panels as both a universal waste and a Class D recyclable material.
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Six New Jersey sites can accept retired solar panels, but only one actually recycles them, leaving owners with limited options as the state works to implement a law requiring retired solar equipment to be recovered.
According to Resource Recycling, under the S3399 law, whoever owns, produces, distributes, or manufactures a piece of solar equipment is responsible for taking it back and recycling or refurbishing it once it reaches the end of its life. Then-Gov. Phil Murphy signed the measure on January 12.
New Jersey regulators are proposing to designate solar panels as both a universal waste and a Class D recyclable material, with those amendments now headed to legal review. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is still completing its internal review of those changes.
Diane Gard, chief of the agency’s Bureau of Recycling and Hazardous Waste Management, said the public will get to weigh in once the amendments are published. From there, finalizing new rules usually takes about a year, and a heavy wave of comments could stretch that timeline even longer.
End-of-life responsibilities aside, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy, and solar leases in particular can deliver hundreds of dollars in monthly savings without upfront costs — and could avoid disposal issues when the systems age. EasyHome‘s free explorer tool lets homeowners see potential savings from vetted installers in their area.
Gard identified Commercial Solar Panel Recycling, based in Phillipsburg, as New Jersey’s only authorized site that actually recycles panels, Resource Recycling reported. Four other locations send the panels they collect to the Phillipsburg facility, while the sixth uses an out-of-state facility it owns.
In 2025, those six sites together processed 107 tons of retired panels. However, no solar panel recycler in New Jersey has received a permit. Instead, the six sites operate under temporary authorizations while the rules are pending.
Warehouse storage and hazardous waste landfills are the remaining options for older panels classified as hazardous through toxicity characteristic leaching procedure testing, Gard said.
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Class D recycling facilities with good compliance records can accept non-hazardous panels through the agency’s research, development, and demonstration framework, Resource Recycling reported. The same toxicity testing is required, and authorizations last one year.
Renewals are available for a maximum of five years, but adoption of final rules would end them sooner.
An assessment of statewide access to recycling facilities must be published in the New Jersey Register before the agency can begin solar-specific rulemaking. The initial authorizations date to 2024.
For homeowners planning a solar installation, EasyHome can also help you explore backup battery storage options alongside your solar choices. Pairing solar with a battery allows you to maximize savings and power your home with solar energy when the grid goes down.
New Jersey’s limited recycling options are part of a larger challenge: figuring out what to do with aging solar panels.
• Nearly 5 million retiring U.S. solar panels could become a strategic materials supply.
• U.S. solar recyclers recover valuable aluminum and silver, but low-silver panels threaten their business.
• Just 0.5% of a solar cell accounts for 47% of its recycling value.
• Aging wind turbines and solar panels are creating a growing e-waste problem for renewables.
• Australian researchers developed a 60-second screening method to identify solar panels suitable for reuse.
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