We Recycle Solar, Inc., North America’s first vertically-integrated organisation specialising in the recycling and remarketing of excess, damaged, and end-of-life solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, has expanded its Arizona-based operation in Yuma to tackle the growing environmental challenge of solar panel waste.

In 2016, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimated that cumulative solar panel waste volume would reach up to 1 million t globally by 2030, and 78 million t by 2050, based on an average PV lifespan of 30 years. However, as early solar panel replacement becomes more and more widespread, discarded solar panels are flooding US landfills – where they can contaminate soil and groundwater with toxic heavy metals and carcinogens including arsenic, lead, and cadmium – at rates that far outpace previous forecasts.

Headquartered in Yuma, Arizona, We Recycle Solar specialises in the highly-technical task of solar panel removal, decommissioning, recycling, and processing for reuse and is the nation’s only solar recycler fully permitted by the federal EPA to handle hazardous secondary materials generated by solar panels.