Industry experts weigh in on developments of end-of-life solar panel management.
By 2050, the United States is expected to have the second largest amount of end-of-life solar panels after China.
Industry experts who have been following developments of end-of-life solar panel management recently provided an update on solar panel recycling in the U.S. during the Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) webinar, “Shining the Light on Solar Panel Recycling.”
California led the way in generating 19 percent of the nation's solar power in 2019. The U.S. produces 2.3 percent of its electricity using solar technologies, and solar energy production is expected to grow.
“Solar is really providing a lot of the power we’re using,” says Garvin Heath, senior scientist in the Strategic Energy Analysis Center of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). “Installations two decades ago are nearing their end of life and that becomes a challenge for the waste industry. Because it takes a long time to develop technology and policy and solutions to dealing with end-of-life products, this is something we need to start to address today.”
Heath adds that end-of-life photovoltaics (PV) modules intersect with the electronics recycling industry and fall under the category of electronic scrap. PV modules could exceed 10 percent of global electronic waste by 2050, he says.
Crystalline solar panels make up 90 percent of the solar panels on the market today. The modules are made up of bulk materials, including glass (75 percent), an aluminum frame, copper wire and a plastic junction box and also include smaller components of silver and silicon and hazardous materials, including lead. Most recyclers focus on recovering the bulk materials, including glass, plastics and aluminum from the panels.
Successful solar panel recycling models have been established across Europe, including manufacturers operating “dedicated facilities” to recycle panels for reuse. By 2050, the industry could recovery enough material to produce 2 billion new panels, Heath says. He adds more infrastructure and a focus on “high-value recycling” is needed to recycle solar panels more widely in the U.S.
Evelyn Butler, senior director of codes and standards at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Washington, says the association’s member-based PV recycling initiative connects manufacturers and installers with established solar panel and electronics recyclers to “build the footprint of reuse and recycling” across the U.S.
Butler says most solar panel scrap is generated during the manufacturing and distribution process, from waste management companies where modules are brought in for disposal from residential or corporate customers or when solar panels are being replaced with newer modules.
SEIA’s network includes 16 partners across the U.S. The association is adding two new members in 2019. Butler says the association is interested in developing recyclers in states where legislation to recycle solar panels is moving forward.
In 2019, North Carolina passed a bill that requires the Environmental Management Commission to develop regulations and oversee the end-of-life management of solar panels. A proposed bill would also ban solar panels from being disposed of in landfills and require manufacturers to provide a take-back program.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control is also in the process of classifying PV modules as “universal waste,” which would make it easier to collect, transport and recycle. New York has also proposed a bill that would implement a landfill ban and require solar panel manufacturers to provide a collection and take-back program.
Casey Hines, a sales executive at Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations, an Onalaska, Wisconsin-based electronics recycler, says “there’s a lot of similarities between solar modules and electronics.”
Dynamic, which accepts crystalline modules, processes solar panels through a shredder and recovers nonferrous fines and steel. He says recyclers can also process panels through an eddy current or optical sorter.
“Not everyone is doing it the exact same way,” Hines says.
He adds, “There’s a limited number of recyclers in the states taking modules. I think there’s a need for these organizations to be able to accept these modules in areas where people are struggling to find a proper outlet.”
In 2016, Illinois passed the Future Energy Jobs Act, which requires the state to generate 25 percent of its energy from renewable energy by 2025. The proposed Clean Energy Jobs Act would get Illinois to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.
As a result of the legislation, 360,000 modules have been installed in Illinois with an additional 6 million modules to be installed by 2020.
“One million modules will reach end of life by 2030,” says Jennifer Martin of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center of University of Illinois. “This is something we want to get ahead of and be prepared for.”
She says the center is trying to figure out who is responsible for managing end-of-life modules. Another concern of the state is keeping broken or damaged panels from entering landfills, she says.
“Right now, many states see a concern for preparing this plan to manage the waste,” Martin says. “Illinois, Minnesota and North Carolina are working to figure out a plan and engage national and local stakeholders, installers and recyclers.”
The coalition’s MRF Glass Certification recognizes effective glass recycling programs in the U.S.
The Glass Recycling Coalition (GRC), Ann Arbor, Michigan, has announced that it is launching the MRF Glass Certification to recognize effective glass programs at material recovery facilities (MRFs). According to a 2018 industry survey, more than 27 percent of MRFs have glass clean-up equipment, GRC reports.
“The long-term goal is to encourage and produce quality glass products that are viable in the glass container market or other beneficial reuse applications and not in a landfill,” says Tom Outerbridge, manager at Sims Municipal Recycling, of GRC’s new certification. Sims Municipal Recycling is a member of GRC.
The free certification program recognizes MRFs with additional equipment and operational procedures to clean up glass in both single- and dual-stream systems that are producing more marketable and high-quality glass.
GRC’s website includes an interactive map showing MRFs, glass processors and end markets across the U.S. GRC-certified MRFs will be noted on this map, along with public recognition of this certification through traditional and social media.
The glass certification criteria are judged on current infrastructure and glass purity measure, GRC reports in a news release on the new certification. An independent committee will score certification levels into gold, silver and bronze certifications.
MRFs holding this certification will have a competitive advantage in the marketplace for glass commodities, GRC reports. The organization believes this certification will highlight the importance of MRFs role in successful glass recycling.
How IT managers, resellers and ITAD companies can flourish in the current digital environment.
The breakneck pace at which digital transformation is occurring is dizzying. From cloud migration to super-charged network speeds to artificial intelligence, we can’t get enough technology or innovation in our professional and personal lives.
Three players in the information technology (IT) industry are feeling these growing pains deeply: IT managers, IT asset disposition (ITAD) vendors and resellers. Will these groups choose fight or flight?
For savvy IT professionals, now is the time to think of these challenges as opportunities, work together and forge ahead.
What does digital transformation mean to IT asset and data center managers? It means keeping up with the Joneses, or better yet the Googles, Ciscos and Amazons. They need the latest and greatest networking equipment to ensure that their end users remain productive. They also need to know that data flying through the ether are secure. Encryption, security patches and training may ward off cyber attacks and spammers in real time, but what about the shortened life cycle of all the assets moving and housing all that data?
What happens to all that gear as its obsolescence is accelerated in an ever-changing digital ecosystem? For the IT professional, they are hoping to dispose of it responsibly and, ideally, use it to infuse money back into their budget or to get credit through an equipment buyback program.
IT managers want to upgrade their equipment quickly, economically and responsibly. They want a flexible, agile partner who will get in, get out and evaluate their gear for resale or credit. If they are in a regulated industry, they need to know that all compliance requirements are met. ITAD vendors are a critical part of closing the loop in this process.
And this is also the point where the loop opens for the reseller.
In the ITAD space, as technology advances, so must ITAD solutions. The ITAD space is all about used equipment, so ITAD companies have to navigate a multitude of brands, a bunch of data center component types and servers, drives and peripherals galore.
Nothing is black and white in this space. Challenges like secure data destruction, compliance, product variety, transportation and chain of custody processes all need to be addressed. It’s a complex process that is labor-intensive from the time goods are picked up to the time they arrive at the ITAD facility.
ITAD solution companies must ensure that their data destruction services are certified, that all asset identification numbers are matched with serial numbers and that clients are provided the necessary audit reports and compliance documentation.
A qualified ITAD provider will be certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), Phoenix. This stringent certification guarantees that its facility has been audited, its processes are clear and documented and its employees are fully vetted and trained. A successful ITAD company also will be brand-neutral to be a one-stop shop for enterprise IT managers. Plus, they will have deep global connections with resellers who can then move these assets through their web of brokers, small business enterprises and corporate clients.
By partnering with an ITAD company, resellers can simplify their process and focus on their bread and butter: sales. These partnerships allow value-added resellers (VARs) to focus on selling not just products but also services. After all, the reseller as a trusted advisor is what the market has been demanding for years.
The peace of mind that a certified, established ITAD vendor delivers is only one advantage of the reseller-ITAD relationship. Here are three ways a full-service ITAD company helps the reseller:
In short, the challenges of digital transformation can result in headaches and a negative impact on profits and productivity for IT asset managers, ITAD vendors and resellers. But building strong relationships can help alleviate these challenges, remove complexities and mitigate risk, allowing all parties to not only succeed but to flourish.
With more than 35 years of industry experience, Jeff Londres is the CEO at NextUse, a NAID AAA-certified global ITAD company specializing in secure data destruction and server, storage and networking equipment buyback programs for enterprises, data centers and recyclers.
The Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority, Troy, Michigan, receives grant to recycle polystyrene.
The Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority (SOCRRA), Troy, Michigan, has received a $50,000 grant from the Foam Recycling Coalition, Falls Church, Virginia, to add a foam densifier to its current materials recovery processing system.
Consisting of 12 municipalities serving a population of about 283,000, SOCRRA operates a material recovery facility (MRF), transfer station and recycling drop-off center that collects multiple materials, including polystyrene (PS). SOCRRA is one of only three foam polystyrene drop-off locations in the greater Detroit area. Since accepting foam PS, it has seen the amount of foam recycled increase by nearly 25 percent per year at the drop-off center.
Except for packing peanuts, SOCRRA accepts all clean and dry types of foam PS. Currently foam is only accepted at the drop-off location, not in the curbside bin program.
The funding allows SOCRRA to purchase and install a high capacity foam densifier to better manage its drop-off foam collection. The densifier compacts collected materials, such as egg cartons and take-out containers, into condensed polystyrene bricks, which can then be recycled into new products.
SOCRRA will also add a bin on the MRF’s presort line to recover additional foam that would otherwise go to residue.
“We are focused on recovering more material, including foam polystyrene packaging,” says Jeff McKeen, general manager of SOCRRA. “A new densifier will reduce the amount of space required to store foam in our facility, creating more efficient and environmentally friendly operations within our recycling process.”
The $50,000 grant is made possible through contributions to the FRC, which focuses exclusively on increased recycling of post-consumer foam polystyrene. Its members include Americas Styrenics; Cascades Canada ULC; CKF Inc.; Chick-fil-A; Dart Container Corp.; Dyne-A-Pak; Genpak; Hawaii’s Finest Products; INEOS Styrolution America LLC; NOVA Chemicals Corp.; Pactiv Foodservice/Food Packaging; Republic Plastics; and TOTAL Petrochemicals & Refining USA.
“Waste authorities like SOCRRA provide the processing and education we need to increase foam recycling across North America,” says Lynn Dyer, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute, which houses the Foam Recycling Coalition. “We congratulate SOCRRA in creating more efficient recycling operations, which will result in valuable materials being diverted from landfills.”
The company’s CRB machine is expected to have an annual capacity of about 500,000 tons.
Packaging solutions provider Graphic Packaging Holding Co., Atlanta, has announced that its mill in Kalamazoo, Michigan, will be the location for the company’s new coated recycled board (CRB) machine. The company will invest $600 million in the project, and the machine is expected to have an annual capacity of about 500,000 tons, Graphic Packaging reports in a news release.
The CRB machine is designed to be the largest and lowest cost producer of CRB, or paperboard, in North America, and the company believes the machine will produce the highest quality coated recycled board product in North America with the lowest-caliper capabilities in the industry, Graphic Packaging reports. The company expects the investment will be capacity neutral by eliminating higher cost production at other facilities.
In addition, the company expects this new machine will deliver an incremental $100 million in annualized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) upon full ramp up in 2022, Graphic Packaging reports in a news release. The investment will be funded from cash flow and existing credit facilities with most of the spending occurring in 2020 and 2021.