LISMORE MP Janelle Saffin says the Minns Labor Government has started consulting on Australia’s first mandatory solar panel recycling scheme for New South Wales.
Ms Saffin said the aim of the scheme would be to ensure valuable materials in old solar panels are recovered, reused and recycled rather than end up in landfill.
The proposed mandatory product stewardship scheme would require solar panel brand owners to take responsibility for the end-of-life management of their products, Ms Saffin said.
Valuable materials such as aluminium, glass, silicon, copper and silver can be recovered from old solar panels and reused in new products and manufacturing industries.
A scheme to help pay for this resource recovery is needed, particularly given that around 14,000 tonnes of solar waste is generated in NSW each year. This is predicted to increase to 89,000 tonnes by 2045.
The Government has released an issues paper alongside the draft regulation, seeking feedback on how the state can support the growth of solar panel recycling, remanufacturing and manufacturing industries.
Consultation will seek views from unions, industry, recyclers, manufacturers, researchers, local government, workers and the community on the opportunities, challenges and investment needed to build a circular economy for solar panels in NSW.
Feedback will inform the design of the mandatory product stewardship scheme with the aim of establishing a system that reduces waste, recovers valuable resources and positions NSW as a leader in solar panel recycling and circular manufacturing.
Submissions on the draft regulation and issues paper are now open. For more information and to have your say, visit https://yoursay.epa.nsw.gov.au/solar.
