For a Brighter and Sustainable Photovoltaic Industry : Recommendations to help tackle end-of-life challenges

Charef, Rabia and Jones, Bethan and Costa, Ana (2025) For a Brighter and Sustainable Photovoltaic Industry : Recommendations to help tackle end-of-life challenges. Zenodo. ISBN 9781862204348

Abstract

The end-of-life of PV panels in the UK is currently regulated under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013, the UK’s implementation of the EU WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU), which was designed to reduce the amount of electronic and electrical waste going to landfill and to promote reuse, recycling and recovery. These regulations place the responsibility for recycling PV panels on producers, meaning manufacturers and importers. They are required to be part of a Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS), which ensures proper collection and recycling of panels. The UK is currently working to ensure that the increased volume of end-of-life solar panels is managed sustainably and doesn’t become a significant waste problem. Aligned with the work developed by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero - DESNZ (Solar roadmap: United Kingdom powered by solar), the recommendations presented in this paper are intended to inform the government’s policy ambition and help industry and researchers to define their priorities to tackle the challenges that affect the end-of-life of PV panels.