Alberta seeks to set up solar panel recycling program

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The Alberta government is expanding the province’s recycling program to permanently include hundreds of electronic items and small appliances and laying the groundwork for a new system for recycling solar panels and other renewable energy equipment.

The province says there are no dedicated solar panel recycling programs or facilities in Canada, even as they continue to be used in increasing numbers on commercial and residential buildings.

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“We’re not just focused on what Albertans want to recycle today but also what they are going to want to recycle 20 years from now,” Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said Tuesday.

The province will begin consulting with experts and industry partners in the fall on setting up a provincewide program for recycling panels and other renewable energy equipment like wind turbines and batteries for electric vehicles.

It says no other province has a wind turbine recycling program and only Quebec offers electric vehicle battery recycling.

The International Renewable Energy Agency has estimated that Canada could create 800,000 tonnes of expired solar panel waste by 2050.

University of Alberta engineering professor Karthik Shankar says the province’s plan sounds good in principle but that more details are needed.

“The recycling has to be done carefully. It’s not something that you can just wing,” he said. “It requires some careful thought and concern.”

Solar panels have a lifespan of around 25 to 30 years, he said, meaning the first generation of panels installed in the 1990s are now needing to be replaced and recycled.

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“It is such a waste to let all that just go into a landfill.”

Most panels are made in China but recycling panels is an emerging market Alberta could do well to capitalize on, Shankar said.

“The ability to recycle solar panels, I would say, is also one more step in making North American supply chains more resilient.”

Pilot program becoming permanent

In 2020, the Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) launched a pilot project allowing more than 500 different types of electronic items.

That pilot project will now become a permanent part of Alberta’s recycling system on April 1, 2025.

Recycling costs will covered in part by consumers who incur a recycling fee when they purchase a device. That fee is estimated to be between 40 cents and $1, according to the government, though Schulz said fees may change pending consultation with industry and other stakeholders.

The program applies to common electronic items, including:

• power tools and lawn and garden equipment
• small appliances, including microwaves and coffee machines
• mobile phones
• Speakers, DVD players and VCRs
• musical instruments including electric guitars and keyboards
• video game equipment
• toys

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Electronic items can be dropped off at any of the 365 registered recycling depots in 148 municipalities across the province.

Before the pilot project, the province’s recycling program had largely accepted only computer equipment and televisions, though ARMA estimates close to 12 million devices have been recycled since 2004.

“We’re creating new opportunities, new industries and more jobs and building our circular economy,” said Alberta Recycling Management Authority CEO Ed Gugenheimer.

“It means a more sustainable future without waste for Alberta.”

mblack@postmedia.com

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