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Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.
Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308
Technical Report
NREL/TP-6A20-74124
March 2021
Solar Photovoltaic Module Recycling:
A Survey of U.S. Policies and Initiatives
Taylor L. Curtis
,
1
Heather Buchanan,
1
Garvin Heath,
1
Ligia Smith
,
1
and Stephanie Shaw
2
1
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
2
Electric Power Research Institute
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.
Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
15013 Denver West Parkway
Golden, CO 80401
303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov
Technical Report
NREL/TP-6A20-74124
March 2021
Solar Photovoltaic Module Recycling:
A Survey of U.S. Policies and Initiatives
Taylor L. Curtis
,
1
Heather Buchanan,
1
Garvin Heath,
1
Ligia Smith
,
1
and Stephanie Shaw
2
1 National Renewable Energy Laboratory
2 Electric Power Research Institute
Suggested Citation
Curtis
, Taylor L., Heather Buchanan, Garvin Heath, Ligia Smith, and Stephanie Shaw. 2021.
Solar
Photovoltaic Module Recycling: A Survey of U.S. Policies and Initiatives. Golden, CO:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/
TP-6A20-74124.
https://www.nrel.gov.docs/fy21osti/74124
.
NOTICE
This work was authored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable
Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. Funding
provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Planning and Assessment Circular Economy for Energy
Materials Steering Committee. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or
the U.S. Government.
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications
.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports produced after 1991
and a growing number of pre-1991 documents are available
free via www.OSTI.gov
.
Cover Photos by Dennis Schroeder: (clockwise, left to right) NREL 51934, NREL 45897, NREL 42160, NREL 45891, NREL 48097,
NREL 46526.
NREL prints on paper that contains recycled content.
iii
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Energy
Technologies Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Planning and
Assessment Circular Economy for Energy Materials Steering Committee for their funding
support. We also thank the following reviewers for their time and expertise; Kristen Ardani, Dan
Bilello, Ligia Smith, Aaron Levine, and Elizabeth “Liz” Breazeale (editor), National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL); Cara Libby, Ken Ladwig, and Naresh Kumar, Electric Power
Research Institute (EPRI); Ben Kaldunski, (formerly) EPRI; Jennifer Martin, Illinois Sustainable
Technology Center (ISTC); Nancy Holm, (formerly) ISTC; Emily Kapps, Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment; and Evelyn Butler, Solar Energy Industries Association.
We thank John “Jack” Wadleigh and Anabelle Chaffin, NREL, for their research support. We
also thank the following for their time and expertise: Kristy Hartman and Megan Cleveland,
National Conference of State Legislatures; Christine Haun and Rob Rieck, Washington
Department of Ecology; Matthew Garamone, Environmental Management Services; Parikhit
Sinha, First Solar; Tim Kimmel, Cleanlites Recycling; Amanda Cotton, John Gilkeson, and
Madalyn Cioci, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Brandon Bray, Karen Pollard, Chris
Newman, Lia Yohannes, and Kathy Lett, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Casey Hines
and Amanda Tischer-Buros, Dynamic LifeCycle Innovations; David Wagger and Danielle
Waterfield, Institute of Scrap Metal Industries; Kate Collardson, CertainTeed; Amanda Bybee,
Amicus O&M Cooperative; Gary Winslow, MiaSolé; John Martorano, Magnum Computer
Recycling; Nicole Hunter, West Virginia Solid Waste Management Board; Paulina Kolic and
Teresa Bui, CalRecycle; and Eric Stikes and Vince Lucia, Good Sun.
iv
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
List of Acronyms
ANSI American National Standards Institute
BAN Basel Action Network
CED covered electronic device
CPUC California Public Utilities Commission
DEC Department of Environmental Conservation (New York)
DEQ Department of Environmental Quality (North Carolina)
DOE U.S. Department of Energy
DTSC Department of Toxic Substances Control (California)
EoL end-of-life
EMS Environmental Management System
EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPEAT Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool
EPR extended producer responsibility
GEC Green Electronics Council
GHG greenhouse gas
GW Gigawatt
HVAC Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
IEA International Energy Agency
IRENA International Renewable Energy Agency
ISO International Organization for Standardization
ISRI Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
ISTC Illinois Sustainable Technology Center
LCA life cycle assessment
LCD liquid crystal display
MSW municipal non-hazardous solid waste
MPCA Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Mt metric ton
NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory
OH&S occupational health & safety
O&M operation and maintenance
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
PV photovoltaic
RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
REC Renewable Energy Credit
RIOS Recycling Industry Operational Standard
SEIA Solar Energy Industries Association
SERI Sustainable Electronics Recycling International
SVTC Silicon Valley Toxics Commission
v
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
Executive Summary
Solar is essential to a zero-carbon energy transition in the United States and around the world.
National and international policy focused on reducing carbon emissions and increasing electric
grid resiliency continue to drive demand for solar. In the U.S. alone, cumulative solar
photovoltaic (PV) operating capacity reached 95 gigawatts (GW)
dc
at the end of 2020, an annual
increase of 19 GW
dc
from 2019.
If current trends persist, U.S. cumulative PV installations could
reach 202 GW
dc
by 2025 (Perea et al. 2021).
The rapid growth and expected continual demand for PV has led to global environmental and
supply chain concerns. The United States is reliant on imports of raw materials for solar module
manufacturing and imports of PV cells and modules to meet domestic demand (Sun et al. 2020;
Mints 2020; Smith Margolis 2019). In 2017, the United States imported 92% of the crystalline
silicon (c-Si) modules needed to meet domestic demand, and in 2019 U.S. manufacturers relied
entirely on imported wafers to meet manufacturing needs (Smith and Margolis 2019). Moreover,
as PV capacity increases in the United States so will the volume of end-of-life (EoL) modules.
Estimates based on a 30-year lifetime assumption with early loss scenarios found that cumulative
end-of-life (EoL) PV modules could total 1 million metric tons (Mt) in the United States by 2030
and up to 10 million Mt by 2050 (Weckend et al. 2016). Early retirements due to efficiency
upgrades and catastrophic events, as well as deployment beyond earlier expectations, will further
increase these projections.
Concerns about PV supply chain vulnerabilities and PV module waste have led to government-
and industry-led discussions, policies, and initiatives that could have important impacts on
recycling-based resource recovery of PV modules in the United States. In this report we identify
drivers, barriers, and enablers to PV module recycling and resource recovery in the United
States. We also analyze U.S. federal and state policies as well as industry policies that expressly
address EoL PV module management and recycling. Some of the findings are listed below.
Drivers for PV Module Recycling
Some drivers identified for domestic PV module recycling include increased supply chain
stability, reduced negative environmental impacts, and new and expanded U.S. market
opportunities. Domestic PV module recycling can recover high-value materials (e.g., silicon,
indium, silver, tellurium, copper) for use in domestic manufacturing or for sale into commodity
markets. Domestic recovery of these resources can reduce U.S. dependence on foreign imports
and alleviate resource constraints. In addition, the recovery of these materials can reduce waste,
and the environmental impacts and total energy needed to mine, transport, and refine virgin
materials and to manufacture new PV modules (Curtis et al. 2021b). Domestic resource recovery
can lead to new and expanded PV module material and product manufacturing opportunities.
Third-party recyclers and lifecycle management companies could expand their services to
include PV module handling, transport, and recycling services. New companies may also emerge
to provide decommissioning and recycling services (Curtis et al. 2021b; Salim et al. 2019; Xu et
al. 2018; Libby and Shaw 2018; Kalmykova et al. 2018; Corcelli et al. 2017; Dominguez and
Geyer 2017; Weckend et al. 2016; Ghisellini et al. 2016).
vi
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
We also found that cost savings, increased profits, and enhanced competitiveness are drivers for
PV module recycling. Manufacturers could lower costs by recycling and reusing recovered
materials from PV modules, manufacturing scrap, and warranty returns. Manufacturers, system
owners, third-party recyclers and others may also generate revenue by selling recovered
materials into commodity markets. Moreover, system owners and manufacturers may also find it
advantageous to recycle PV modules to comply with voluntary industry standards to enhance
their company’s image and their overall competitiveness in the marketplace (Curtis et al. 2021b).
Barriers to PV Module Recycling
Some barriers identified that may impede PV module recycling opportunities in the United States
include gaps in data, current recycling technology, services and infrastructure, and regulatory
uncertainty. There is a lack of research and publicly available information regarding: the value
and markets for recovered PV materials, the volume and composition of near-term EoL PV
modules, the development of PV module recycling technology, the assessment of infrastructure
needs, and the overall costs associated with PV module recycling (Salim et al. 2019; Choi 2017;
D’Adamo 2017; Weckend et al. 2016). Current technology, infrastructure, and processes
associated with recycling PV modules are not optimized for cost-effective recovery of high value
materials. As a result, the cost of recycling is often outweighed by cheaper more accessible
disposal options. In addition, the current regulatory scheme for managing EoL PV modules is
complex and varies by jurisdiction, and there is not a clear understanding of the permitting
requirements or liabilities associated with handling, transporting, storing, accumulating, treating,
or recycling PV modules (Libby and Shaw 2018; NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; DTSC 2019b;
Evelyn Butler, Solar Energy Industries Association, telephone conference, February 8, 2019;
Matthew Garamone and Parikhit Sinha, First Solar, telephone conference March 4, 2019; Tim
Kimmel, Cleanlites Recycling, telephone conference March 5, 2019; Gary Winslow, MiaSolé,
email, March 12, 2019; John Martorano, Magnum Computer Recycling, telephone conference
July 31, 2019). Moreover, federal and state solid waste laws often regulate PV modules destined
for resource recovery in the same manner as those destined for disposal, which does not provide
an incentive for recycling, especially when the economics and accessibility of disposal are more
favorable. Nor are there many policies in place that require or incentivize PV module recycling
and resource recovery in the United States. To date, the most common regulatory mechanisms
for EoL product management are extended producer responsibility (EPR) and landfill diversion
policies. However, no publicly available study comprehensively analyzes the advantages,
challenges, and overall success of these policies or how they compare to other regulatory models,
or whether these frameworks make sense for PV modules.
Enablers to PV Module Recycling
Policy can help enable PV module recycling in the United States. Government-funded research
and analysis is needed to study and inform: 1) the value of and the markets for recovered
materials, 2) the volume and composition of EoL PV modules, 3) module recycling technology
and infrastructure needs, 4) permitting requirements and liabilities, and 5) costs associated with
PV module recycling (Salim et al. 2019; CPUC 2019; NREL 2019; Libby and Shaw 2018; Tura
et al. 2018). Clearly defined regulatory requirements and restrictions can also reduce uncertainty
and risk associated with recycling PV modules (NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; Salim et al. 2019). In
addition, federal, state, and industry policies can mandate or incentivize resource recovery or
vii
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
prohibit disposal which could drive and enable PV module recycling opportunities in the United
States (Salim et al. 2019; Tura et al. 2018; Bai et al. 2015; Dong et al. 2016). For example,
policies that mandate or incentivize manufacturers to provide PV module labels with
concentrations of hazardous material (such as lead) could enable information exchange between
stakeholders and eliminate the need for expensive and variable hazardous waste characteristic
testing. Moreover, policies that reduce the regulatory burden and legal liability associated with
PV modules destined for resource recovery compared to disposal could also incentivize recycling
modules making the economics of recycling more competitive with disposal.
PV Module Recycling Policies
We found no federal statutes or regulations that expressly speak to recycling-based recovery of
PV modules in the United States, however state- and industry-led policies have started to emerge
to address EoL PV module management concerns. We identified four states that have recently
enacted laws that address PV module recycling and could impact domestic resource recovery and
U.S. recycling. For example, Washington recently implemented a EPR regulation that impacts
solar module manufacturers. The regulation will require PV module manufacturers, beginning
July 1, 2023, to finance the takeback and reuse or recycling of PV modules sold within or into
the state, after July 1, 2017, a no cost to the end user. California also passed a regulation that
took effect in January of 2021 that allows for EoL PV modules to be managed as universal
hazardous waste. California’s universal waste regulation allows for modules being recycled or
disposed of to be regulated under less stringent handling, transport, and storage requirements and
prohibits the use of heat and chemical treatment and recycling processes. In addition, New Jersey
and North Carolina passed legislation in 2019 to study EoL PV module management options to
inform future regulation in their respective state.
We also analyzed bills (pending) in the 2020-2021 U.S. state legislatures as well as historic bills
proposed that failed in recent years to identify policy trends that impact PV module recycling.
We found that California and Hawaii both have proposed (pending) bills that create advisory
groups to study and recommend PV module EoL policies in their respective state. Rhode Island
has proposed a bill that, if enacted, would create a Photovoltaic Module Stewardship and
Takeback Program. In addition, we identified 15 historical state bills that were proposed and
failed since 2014 that addressed EoL PV modules.
We also identified recent state-led and industry-led initiatives that focus on EoL management
options for PV modules. Working groups in California, Illinois and Minnesota have been formed
in the last few years to study PV module recycling and inform future regulation. Moreover, a
new industry standard was recently released (NSF 457 Sustainability Leadership for PV Modules
and Inverter) which incentivizes PV module recycling. The Solar Energy Industries Association
(SEIA) has also developed a national network of recyclers for PV modules.
Methodology
Our results are based on legal- and literature-based research. In addition, our results incorporate
feedback and information we received from a series of interviews conducted through
teleconference and email exchange with a diverse group of industry experts, including academic
and research organizations, industry associations, manufacturers, asset owners, recycling
viii
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companies, consultants, as well as U.S. federal and state regulators and policymakers. The
questions used in each interview were tailored to the industry stakeholders’ areas of expertise.
This report is intended to inform decisionmakers, including those involved in policy design; it
does not endorse any particular policy mechanism over another, nor does it assess all policies or
all the impacts that those policies may have on solar markets or related commodity markets.
ix
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Drivers, Barriers, and Enablers to PV Module Recycling in the United States .............................. 5
2.1 Drivers for PV Module Recycling ................................................................................................. 5
2.1.1 Economic Drivers ............................................................................................................. 6
2.1.2 Environmental Drivers ..................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Barriers to PV Module Recycling ................................................................................................. 7
2.2.1 Research, Development, and Analysis Barriers ............................................................... 8
2.2.2 Information Availability and Exchange Barriers ............................................................. 9
2.2.3 Economic Incentive Barriers ............................................................................................ 9
2.2.4 Regulatory Barriers ........................................................................................................ 10
2.3 Enablers to PV Module Recycling .............................................................................................. 15
2.3.1 Research and Development Enablers ............................................................................. 16
2.3.2 Information Exchange Enablers ..................................................................................... 17
2.3.3 Economic Incentive Enablers ......................................................................................... 17
2.3.4 Industry-Led Enablers .................................................................................................... 18
2.3.5 Statutory and Regulatory Enablers ................................................................................. 19
3 Enacted PV Module Recycling Policies in the United States ......................................................... 22
3.1 Washington State’s PV Module Stewardship and Takeback Program........................................ 23
3.2 North Carolina’s Commission to Study and Adopt Regulations to Govern the Management of
PV Modules ................................................................................................................................. 26
3.3 New Jersey’s Commission to Investigate Options for EoL PV Recycling ................................. 28
3.4 California’s Universal Waste Regulations .................................................................................. 30
4 Proposed Legislation (Pending) ....................................................................................................... 33
4.1 California Senate Bill 207 (introduced January 11, 2021) .......................................................... 33
4.2 Hawaii’s House Bill 1333 (introduced January 27, 2021) .......................................................... 34
4.3 Rhode Island House Bill 5525 (introduced February 12, 2021) ................................................. 35
5 Historic Legislative Proposals (Unenacted) .................................................................................... 36
6 Industry- and State-Led Initiatives .................................................................................................... 39
6.1 Industry-Led Initiatives ............................................................................................................... 39
6.1.1 SEIA National PV Recycling Program .......................................................................... 39
6.1.2 Selected Voluntary Industry Standards .......................................................................... 40
6.2 State-Led Initiatives .................................................................................................................... 46
7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 47
References ................................................................................................................................................. 48
Executive Orders .................................................................................................................................. 56
Federal and State Statutes ..................................................................................................................... 56
Federal and State Regulations .............................................................................................................. 57
State Session Laws ............................................................................................................................... 58
State Bills ............................................................................................................................................. 58
State Historic Bills ................................................................................................................................ 58
State Legislative Committee Reports ................................................................................................... 59
Appendix A. Breakdown of Selected Enacted Policy: Requirements ........................................... 60
Appendix B. Breakdown of Selected Recent Historic Policy (Unenacted) ................................... 62
Appendix C. Electronic Device EoL Policies ................................................................................... 65
x
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List of Figures
Figure 1. EPR policies and breakdown by requirement type ...................................................................... 21
Figure 2. U.S. jurisdictions with electronic landfill ban policies and EPR requirements ........................... 22
Figure 3. Enacted PV module recycling policies ........................................................................................ 23
Figure 4. Proposed (pending) PV module recycling legislation ................................................................. 33
List of Tables
Table 1. Drivers for PV Module Recycling .................................................................................................. 6
Table 2. Barriers to PV Module Recycling ................................................................................................... 7
Table 3. Potential Enablers to PV Module Recycling................................................................................. 16
Table 4. Benefits of Complying with Industry Standards ........................................................................... 19
Table 5. Summary of Historic (Unenacted) Legislation that Addressed PV Module Recycling ................ 36
Table 6. Comparison of Selected Voluntary Industry Standards ................................................................ 40
Table 7. NSF/ANSI 457 Sustainability Leadership Standard Requirements .............................................. 42
Table 8. ISO 14001 Standard Requirements .............................................................................................. 43
Table 9. SERI R2 Standard Requirements ................................................................................................. 44
Table A- 1. Washington: Enacted Regulatory Requirements (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010) ............. 60
Table A- 2. California: Enacted Universal Waste Regulations (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66273.1-
66273.84) ............................................................................................................................... 61
Table B- 1. New York: Historic Legislation (S.B. 942, 2019-2020 State Assemb., Reg. Sess. [N.Y. 2019])
................................................................................................................................................ 62
Table B- 2. Arizona Historic Legislation (H.B. 2828, 54th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess. [Ariz. 2020])) ................. 64
Table C- 1. Summary of Electronic Waste EPR Requirements and Landfill Disposal Policies (as of 2019)
................................................................................................................................................ 65
1
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
1 Introduction
Solar is essential to a zero-carbon energy transition in the United States and around the world.
National and international policy focused on reducing carbon emissions and increasing electric
grid resiliency continue to drive demand for solar. In the U.S. alone, cumulative solar
photovoltaic (PV) operating capacity reached 95 gigawatts (GW)
dc
at the end of 2020, an annual
increase of 19 GW
dc
from 2019.
If current trends persist, U.S. cumulative PV installations could
reach 202 GW
dc
by 2025 (Perea et al. 2021).
The rapid growth and expected continual demand for PV has led to global environmental and
supply chain concerns. The United States is reliant on imports of raw materials for solar module
manufacturing and imports of PV cells and modules to meet domestic demand (Sun et al. 2020;
Mints 2020; Smith Margolis 2019). In 2017, the United States imported 92% of the crystalline
silicon (c-Si) modules needed to meet domestic demand, and in 2019 U.S. manufacturers relied
entirely on imported wafers to meet manufacturing needs (Smith and Margolis 2019). Moreover,
as PV capacity increases in the United States so will the volume of end-of-life (EoL) modules.
Estimates based on a 30-year lifetime assumption with early loss scenarios found that cumulative
end-of-life (EoL) PV modules could total 1 million metric tons (Mt) in the United States by 2030
and up to 10 million Mt by 2050 (Weckend et al. 2016). Early retirements due to efficiency
upgrades and catastrophic events, as well as deployment beyond earlier expectations, will further
increase these projections.
The growing amount of decommissioned PV modules in the United States has led to a national
discussion on EoL management options and opportunities. EoL management options for PV
include reuse, rebuild for reuse,
1
recycling and resource recovery, storage, and disposal. Disposal
of PV modules increases the burden on landfill capacity
2
in the United States, while reuse,
rebuild for reuse, and recycling options recover valuable materials and provide secondary market
opportunities and ancillary benefits (EPA 2019d; SWEEP 2019; Weckend et al. 2016). Domestic
resource recovery of PV module material could reduce environmental and supply chain concerns
and lead to new and expanded market opportunities, job creation, and economic benefits for PV
industry stakeholders in the United States.
But anecdotal evidence suggests that today storage and disposal of PV modules are occurring
and that less than 10% are being recycled in the United States (Salim et al. 2019; CPUC 2019;
DTSC 2019b; NREL 2019). Industry experts have observed that some PV modules are being
disposed of in municipal non-hazardous landfills and federally regulated hazardous treatment,
storage, and disposal facilities, while other PV modules are being stored in warehouses until
economically viable recycling or other EoL management options become available (Curtis et al.
2021b; ASES 2020; CSSA 2020; CPUC 2019; DTSC 2019b; NREL 2019; Libby and Shaw
1
This report uses the terms “rebuild” and “rebuilt” to include various degrees of rebuilding, remanufacturing,
refurbishing, repairing, or reconditioning PV modules and system components for reuse. This terminology comes
from the Underwriters Laboratories Rebuilt Equipment Certification Program (UL 2014).
2
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a database of 2,613 municipal landfills in the U.S. of those
landfills the EPA has landfill design capacity data and waste in place data for 1,339 landfills. Of those 1,339
landfills, with capacity data, more than half (763 landfills) have reached 50% or more in capacity, while 204 of
those landfills are already at 100% capacity (EPA 2019d). In addition, one projection found that by 2021 only 15
years of landfill capacity in the U.S. will remain (SWEEP 2019).
2
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
2018). As awareness of current practices grows, industry stakeholders, regulators, and
policymakers in the United States are starting to study and identify barriers to cost-effective PV
module recycling, and to inform policy
3
that aims to drive and enable environmentally
sustainable EoL management decisions and increase module recycling.
This report identifies drivers, barriers, and potential enablers to PV module recycling and
resource recovery efforts in the United States. In addition to literature-based research, we
conducted a number of interviews and interacted with industry stakeholders to identify factors
that may drive or act as a barrier to PV module recycling opportunities in the United States. The
stakeholder interactions also informed potential solutions to the identified barriers to enable
recycling-based recovery of PV module materials in the United States.
Some drivers identified for domestic PV module recycling include increased supply chain
stability, reduced negative environmental impacts, and new and expanded U.S. market
opportunities. Domestic PV module recycling can recover high-value materials (e.g., silicon,
indium, silver, tellurium, copper) for use in domestic manufacturing or for sale into commodity
markets. Domestic recovery of these resources can reduce U.S. dependence on foreign imports
and alleviate resource constraints. In addition, the recovery of these materials can also reduce
waste, and reduce the environmental impacts and total energy needed to mine, transport, and
refine virgin materials and to manufacture new PV modules (Curtis et al. 2021b). Domestic
resource recovery can lead to new and expanded PV module material and product manufacturing
opportunities. Third-party recyclers and lifecycle management companies could expand their
services to include PV module handling, transport, and recycling services. New companies may
also emerge to provide decommissioning and recycling services (Curtis et al. 2021b; Salim et al.
2019; Xu et al. 2018; Libby and Shaw 2018; Kalmykova et al. 2018; Corcelli et al. 2017;
Dominguez and Geyer 2017; Weckend et al. 2016; Ghisellini et al. 2016).
We also found that cost savings, increased profits, and enhanced competitiveness are drivers for
PV module recycling. Manufacturers could lower costs by recycling and reusing recovered
materials from PV module manufacturing scrap, warranty returns, and other PV modules.
Manufacturers, system owners, third-party recyclers and others may also generate revenue by
selling recovered materials into commodity markets. Moreover, system owners and
manufacturers may also find it advantageous to recycle PV modules to comply with voluntary
industry standards to enhance their company’s image and advance their overall competitiveness
in the marketplace (Curtis et al. 2021b).
Some barriers identified that may impede PV module recycling opportunities in the United States
include gaps in data, current recycling technology, services and infrastructure, and regulatory
uncertainty. There is a lack of research and publicly available information regarding: the value
and markets for recovered PV module materials, the volume and composition of near-term EoL
PV modules, the development of PV recycling technology, the assessment of infrastructure
needs, and the overall costs associated with PV module recycling (Salim et al. 2019; Choi 2017;
D’Adamo 2017; Weckend et al. 2016). Current technology, infrastructure, and processes
associated with recycling PV modules are not optimized for cost-effective recovery of high value
3
“Policy” is used broadly in this report to include not only federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements,
but also governmental initiatives and goals, in addition to industry initiatives, standards, and goals.
3
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
materials. As a result, the cost of recycling is often outweighed by cheaper more accessible
disposal options. In addition, the current regulatory scheme for managing EoL PV modules is
complex and varies by jurisdiction, and there is not a clear understanding of the permitting
requirements or liabilities associated with handling, transporting, storing, accumulating, treating,
or recycling PV modules (Libby and Shaw 2018; NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; DTSC 2019b;
Evelyn Butler, Solar Energy Industries Association, telephone conference, February 8, 2019;
Matthew Garamone and Parikhit Sinha, First Solar, telephone conference March 4, 2019; Tim
Kimmel, Cleanlites Recycling, telephone conference March 5, 2019; Gary Winslow, MiaSolé,
email, March 12, 2019; John Martorano, Magnum Computer Recycling, telephone conference
July 31, 2019). Moreover, federal and state solid waste laws often regulate PV modules destined
for resource recovery in the same manner as those destined for disposal, which does not provide
an incentive for recycling especially when the economics and accessibility of disposal are more
favorable. Nor are there many policies in place that require or incentivize PV module recycling
and resource recovery in the United States. To date, the most common regulatory mechanisms
for EoL product management are extended producer responsibility (EPR) and landfill diversion
policies. However, no publicly available study comprehensively analyzes the advantages,
challenges, and overall success of these policies or how they compare to other regulatory models,
or whether these frameworks make sense for PV modules.
Policy can help enable PV module recycling in the United States. Government-funded research
and analysis is needed to study and inform: 1) the value of and the markets for recovered
materials, 2) the volume and composition of EoL PV modules, 3) module recycling technology
and infrastructure needs, 4) permitting requirements and liabilities, and 5) costs associated with
PV module recycling (Salim et al. 2019; CPUC 2019; NREL 2019; Libby and Shaw 2018; Tura
et al. 2018). Clearly defined regulatory requirements and restrictions can also reduce uncertainty
and risk associated with recycling PV modules (NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; Salim et al. 2019). In
addition, federal, state, and industry policies can mandate or incentivize resource recovery or
prohibit disposal which could drive and enable PV module recycling opportunities in the United
States (Salim et al. 2019; Tura et al. 2018; Bai et al. 2015; Dong et al. 2016). For example,
policies that mandate or incentivize manufacturers to provide PV module labels with
concentrations of hazardous material (such as lead) could enable information exchange between
stakeholders and eliminate the need for expensive and variable hazardous waste characteristic
testing. Moreover, policies that reduce the regulatory burden and legal liability associated with
PV modules destined for resource recovery compared to disposal could also incentivize recycling
modules making the economics of recycling more competitive with disposal.
This report also analyzes federal, state, and industry policies that expressly address PV module
recycling opportunities in the United States. Specifically, this report analyzes existing federal
and state statutes and regulations, proposed state legislation (i.e., pending), and historic state
legislative proposals (i.e., failed, unenacted), as well as state- and industry-led policies and
initiatives that explicitly address recycling-based recovery of PV modules in the United States.
We conducted legal- and literature-based research and held a number of interviews with industry
stakeholders, regulators, and policymakers to identify relevant policies and to help inform the
analysis of those identified policies. Literature-based research and industry stakeholder
interviews also helped characterize the advantages and challenges associated with the identified
policies. Recognizing that federal, state, and industry policies can enable or inhibit PV module
recycling opportunities in the United States, this report hopes to inform policy design but does
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not endorse one particular policy mechanism or framework over another. Nor does this report
assess any impacts the identified policies may have on the PV market or associated commodity
markets in the United States.
We found no federal statutes or regulations that expressly speak to recycling-based recovery of
PV modules in the United States; however, state- and industry-led policies have started to
emerge to address EoL PV management concerns. The state- and industry-led policies identified
have diverse frameworks that cover different EoL management activities and impact different
actors in the solar value chain. In 2017, Washington enacted the first law in the United States to
require PV manufacturers to take back and reuse or recycle PV EoL modules from end users.
Other states, such as New Jersey and North Carolina, passed laws in 2019 to require the study of
EoL PV management options, which are designed to develop options for legislative or regulatory
consideration and could provide valuable, publicly available information about the costs and
liabilities associated with PV module recycling and resource recovery opportunities. California
also passed a regulation that took effect in January of 2021 that allows for EoL PV modules to be
managed as universal hazardous waste. California’s universal waste regulation allows for
modules being recycled or disposed of to be regulated under less stringent handling, transport,
and storage requirements and prohibits the use of heat and chemical treatment and recycling
processes.
We also analyzed bills (pending) in the 2020-2021 U.S. state legislatures as well as historic bills
proposed that failed in recent years to identify policy trends that impact PV module recycling.
We found that California and Hawaii both have proposed (pending) bills that create advisory
groups to study and recommend PV module EoL policies in their respective state. Rhode Island
has proposed a bill that, if enacted, would create a Photovoltaic Module Stewardship and
Takeback Program. In addition, we identified 15 historical state bills that were proposed and
failed since 2014 that addressed EoL PV modules.
We also identified recent state-led and industry-led initiatives that focus on EoL management
options for PV modules. Working groups in California, Illinois and Minnesota have been formed
in the last few years to study PV module EoL management options and inform future regulation.
Moreover, a new industry standard was recently released (NSF 457 Sustainability Leadership for
PV Modules and Inverter) which incentivizes PV module recycling. The Solar Energy Industries
Association (SEIA) has also developed a national network of recyclers for PV modules.
This report analyzes policies in the United States that may impact EoL PV module recycling and
resource recovery.
• Section 2 discusses drivers, barriers, and enablers to PV module recycling and resource
recovery in the United States;
• Section 3 discusses current state policies that mandate or encourage PV module recycling;
• Section 4 discusses proposed state legislation that specifically address EoL PV module
recycling;
• Section 5 highlights historic legislation that, if enacted as written, would have addressed
EoL PV module recycling; and
• Section 6 provides an overview of industry- and state-led initiatives aimed at furthering
PV module recycling efforts in the United States.
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2 Drivers, Barriers, and Enablers to PV Module
Recycling in the United States
The current solar supply chain in the United States represents a linear economic model. Few PV
manufacturers take into consideration design for recyclability and only a few U.S.-based
manufacturers have implemented takeback programs to recycle EoL PV modules (NREL 2019;
Salim et al. 2019). Moreover, although there is a growing number of third-party companies that
accept PV modules, less than 10% of EoL modules are sent to recyclers today (CSSA 2020;
ASES 2020). Most asset owners are unsure how to manage EoL PV modules and the cost and
accessibility of recycling is often overshadowed by cheaper more accessible disposal options
(CPUC 2019; Salim et al 2019; Evelyn Butler, Solar Energy Industries Association, telephone
conference, February 8, 2019; SEIA 2019b; Libby and Shaw 2018). Anecdotal evidence suggests
that the cost of module recycling in the United States ranges from $15-45 per module, while one
study found that disposal tipping fees at non-hazardous landfills ($26/U.S. ton) can cost less than
$1 per module and less than $5 per module at hazardous waste landfills ($175/U.S. ton) (Curtis
et al. 2021b; ASES 2020; CSSA 2020; Ablison Energy 2020; Evergreen Solar 2020;
Intermountain Wind & Solar 2020; CitiGreen, Inc. 2019; Green Coast 2019; Alba Energy 2018;
EnergySage 2018; Libby and Shaw 2018).
4
By comparison, in Europe, where countries have
nationwide policies that mandate PV module recycling, the cost of recycling is as low as $0.70
per module and recycling rates are as high as 95% (Curtis et al. 2021b; CSSA 2020; ASES
2020).
In this section, we discuss drivers, barriers, and potential enablers to PV module recycling in the
United States. In addition to doing literature-based research, we conducted interviews and
interacted with solar experts to identify factors that may drive or act as a barrier to PV module
recycling in the United States. These stakeholder interactions also informed potential solutions
that may enable module recycling.
2.1 Drivers for PV Module Recycling
Drivers are opportunities that motivate actors to adopt a desired behavior and typically benefit
specific stakeholders or the public interest. Federal, state, and industry policy can either enable
or inhibit a particular opportunity or benefit. In this section we identify some economic and
environmental opportunities and benefits of module recycling that may drive actors along the PV
value chain to recycle. Table 1 summarizes some of those drivers.
4
We calculated the per module disposal cost by estimating a typical module weight of 33-50 pounds (Ablison
Energy 2020; Evergreen Solar 2020; Intermountain Wind & Solar 2020; CitiGreen, Inc. 2019; Green Coast 2019;
Alba Energy 2018; EnergySage 2018; Wholesale Solar 2011) and using the per ton landfill tipping costs of $26/
U.S. ton to $89/U.S. ton for nonhazardous Subtitle D landfills and $175/U.S. ton for hazardous Subtitle C landfills
provided by (Libby and Shaw 2018).
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Table 1. Drivers for PV Module Recycling
Economic
Drivers
Potential Benefits Actor(s)
Cost savings and
increased profits
Recycling and resource recovery can reduce
manufacturing costs and create additional revenue
streams and tax benefits
Manufacturer, PV
Owner, O&M
Enhanced
competitiveness
Recycling and resource recovery can increase a
business’s “green” or “environmentally responsible” image
and increase consumer trust
Manufacturer, PV
Owner, O&M,
Installers, End User
New and expanded
market and
employment
opportunities
Recycling-based resource recovery presents opportunities
for new and expanded markets and job creation
Manufacturer, PV
Owner, O&M,
Installer, Recycler,
Government
Environmental
Drivers
Potential Benefits Actor(s)
Reduced negative
environmental
impacts
Recycling can reduce waste, greenhouse gases, and
other environmental, and the total energy required to
mine, transport, refine and manufacture PV modules
Manufacturer, PV
Owner, O&M,
Installer, Recycler,
Government
Reduced resource
constraints
Recycling-based resource recovery can conserve high-
value materials, prevent resource constraints, reduce raw
material import demand, and reduce supply chain
concerns
Manufacturer,
Government
2.1.1 Economic Drivers
Recycling EoL PV modules can lead to economic benefits for industry stakeholders, new and
expanded market opportunities, and job creation in the United States. Recovery of high-value
materials (e.g., silicon, indium, silver, tellurium, copper) can be used to manufacture new PV
modules, or can be sold into commodity markets (Salim et al. 2019; Xu et al. 2018; Dominguez
and Geyer 2017; Weckend et al. 2016). One estimate found that the value of recovered material
from EoL PV modules represents a potential $60 million U.S. industry by 2030, and $2 billion
by 2050 (Weckend et al. 2016; EPA 2019a).
Reuse of valuable materials recovered from recycled PV modules can provide cost savings to
manufacturers and profits for other industry stakeholders (Curtis et al. 2021b; CPSC 2020; Ludt
2019; Salim et al. 2019; Libby and Shaw 2018; Kalmykova et al. 2018; Corcelli et al. 2017;
Ghisellini et al. 2016). Manufacturers could lower manufacturing costs by reusing recovered
materials from manufacturing scrap, customer returns and other modules. Recycling companies
and other industry stakeholders (e.g., reverse logistic companies) can expand their business
products and services to include PV module recycling, and they could sell recovered materials on
commodity markets. For example, Cleanlites Recycling Inc., and Dynamic LifeCycle
Innovations have both expanded their universal and electronic waste management and recycling
services to also include PV module collection and recycling (Tim Kimmel, Cleanlites Recycling,
teleconference, March 5, 2019; Casey Hines and Amanda Tischer-Buros, LifeCycle Dynamics,
teleconference, March 20, 2019). Companies that engage in environmentally sustainable EoL
management practices, such as recycling could also enhance their corporate responsibility image
and increase consumer trust (Curtis et al. 2021b; Salim et al. 2019; Xu et al. 2018).
Moreover, domestic recovery of PV module material can reduce resource constraints, increase
supply chain stability, and lead to new and expanded U.S. market opportunities and job creation.
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Domestic recovery of PV module material could decrease module and module material imports,
increase supply stability, and provide an opportunity to expand PV material and module
manufacturing in the United States (Curtis et al. 2021b). New companies, such as Solar Sun
Recycling are also emerging to offer reverse logistics and recycling services (Curtis et al.
2021b).
2.1.2 Environmental Drivers
Recycling-based resource recovery of PV modules can reduce waste, alleviate constraints on
virgin materials, and reduce environmental pollutants associated with production of new PV
modules. The reuse of recovered PV module material reduces waste and diverts valuable
materials from the landfill. The reuse of these materials also reduces constraints on virgin
materials used in PV module manufacturing. Moreover, the reuse of recovered module material
reduces lifecycle environmental impacts by reducing the energy output, costs, and environmental
pollutants (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions) associated with mining, transporting, and refining
virgin materials, and manufacturing and distributing new PV modules (Curtis et al. 2021b; Salim
et al. 2019; Celik et al. 2018; Stolz et al. 2018; Dominguez and Geyer 2017).
2.2 Barriers to PV Module Recycling
Barriers are factors that may hinder a desired behavior or outcome. Federal, state, and industry
policy can inhibit a particular opportunity, benefit, or desired outcome. Identifying the major
barriers associated with PV module recycling may help policymakers formulate policy solutions
to overcome future challenges. In this section, we identify technology, process, data, economic
and regulatory factors that may inhibit PV module recycling. Table 2 summarizes those barriers.
Table 2. Barriers to PV Module Recycling
Barrier
Description
Actor(s)
Lack of support for
research,
development, and
analysis
Limited policies exist to fund research, development,
and analysis for: the valuation of and markets for
recovered PV materials, the volume and composition
of EoL PV, development of PV module recycling
technology and assessment of infrastructure needs,
identification and analysis of permitting requirements
and liabilities, and the costs associated with PV
module recycling
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler,
Recycler, Government
Lack of publicly
available
information and
information
exchange
Policies do not support information exchange
between manufacturers and recyclers or between
end users and landfill owners and operators
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Recycler, End
User, Landfill
Owner/Operator
Lack of economic
incentives
Limited economic incentives exist to promote design
for recycle or the collection and recycling of EoL PV
modules
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Recycler, End
User, Landfill
Owner/Operator
Complex, varied
laws and
regulations
The laws and regulations applicable to the EoL
management of PV modules are complex,
confusing, and vary by jurisdiction
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler,
Recycler, End User,
Landfill Owner/Operator,
Government
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Barrier
Description
Actor(s)
Existing statutory
and regulatory
schemes do not
support recycling
and resource
recovery
No federal and limited state policies exist to mandate
or incentivize PV module recycling; the current
statutory and regulatory scheme often mandates
compliance with stringent handling, storage,
transport, treatment, recycling, and disposal
requirements that carry civil and criminal liability for
non-compliance
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler,
Recycler, End User,
Landfill Owner/Operator,
Government
2.2.1 Research, Development, and Analysis Barriers
The first group of policy barriers is predominately concerned with the lack of research and
publicly available information regarding the incentives, requirements, costs, liabilities, and
current market conditions associated with PV module recycling. To date, limited U.S.
government funding has been focused on understanding the value of recovered materials from
PV modules or the expected volume and composition of EoL PV modules in the United States
(Salim et al. 2019; Weckend et al. 2016). The 2016 International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA) and International Energy Agency (IEA) report is one of the most comprehensive
studies conducted, to date, that estimates the expected volume of EoL PV modules, and the value
of recovered material. Yet the IEA/IRENA report’s estimates are based on raw materials
technically recoverable from PV modules, and the findings do not take into consideration the
need for material streams of certain purity or loss scenarios associated with modules not
collected and recycled (Weckend et al. 2016). The report’s EoL PV module projections could
also be strengthened by additional assumption factors such as estimates of early retired PV
modules due to catastrophic events or decisions to repower PV systems with higher efficiency
modules. The IEA/IRENA data could also be updated using current PV installation and
projection numbers.
In terms of repowering alone, recent trends suggest that commercial- and utility-scale
repowering may become more prevalent in the solar industry, which could increase EoL PV
module projections (Balfour 2017; NREL 2019). Similar to technological advances in the
electronics industry, PV manufacturers also find ways to improve the efficiency of PV modules
over time, which could lead to the early retirement of operational modules (Balfour 2017; EPA
2019a). Industry observations suggest that some commercial- and utility-scale solar project
owners and operators may find it advantageous to replace older PV modules with newer, more
efficient modules every 10 to 12 years (NREL 2019; CPUC 2019). If commercial- and utility-
scale repowering becomes more prevalent this will impact the volume of EoL PV modules in the
United States (NREL 2019; CPUC 2019).
Moreover, there is limited publicly available research identifying PV module recycling
infrastructure and technology needs in the United States (Salim et al. 2019; Tura et al. 2018).
U.S.-based recycling facilities are not designed for PV modules and are not optimized for cost-
effective recovery of high-purity materials at high recovery rates (Heath et al. 2020). In fact, we
only found two recyclers in the United States that recover high-purity bulk and trace materials
from PV modules—We Recycle Solar and First Solar (Curtis et al. 2021b; ASES 2020; Heath et
al. 2020). (Curtis et al. 2021b; CSSA 2020; ASES 2020; First Solar 2019; Matthew Garamone
and Parikhit Sinha, First Solar, telephone conference, March 4, 2019). Most recyclers are only
recovering glass, aluminum frames, and external copper wires from PV modules and are unable
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to recover high value constituents like silver, copper, and high purity silicon (Wambach et al.
2018).
In addition, limited information is available regarding the capital costs associated with
establishing collection centers and recycling facilities and purchasing necessary recycling
machinery (Curtis et al. 2021b; Choi 2017; D’Adamo 2017). Limited public information is also
available regarding projected U.S. locations of near-term EoL PV in relation to recycling and
resource recovery operations. Nor is public information available regarding the most cost-
effective means to collect, sort, and transport modules between these locations.
No industry or U.S. federal research program exists that comprehensively analyzes the regulatory
or economic soft costs associated with recycling EoL PV modules. Information is limited
regarding the regulatory and permitting requirements and liabilities associated with PV module
recycling and resource recovery operations. Nor is there a clear understanding of what the
permitting, siting, and occupational health and safety (OH&S) requirements are for constructing
new PV module recycling and resource recovery facilities.
2.2.2 Information Availability and Exchange Barriers
The second group of policy barriers focuses on the lack of information exchange between solar
value chain actors (Salim et al. 2019; NREL 2019; Tura et al. 2018; Besiou and Van
Wassenhove 2016). For example, no federal, state, or industry policies require or incentivize
manufacturers to label PV modules to provide recyclers or landfill operators with the modules’
chemical makeup. The lack of transparency between manufacturers and EoL PV module
stakeholders compounds highly variable EoL management costs by requiring testing to
determine if the module exceeds toxicity thresholds to ensure compliance with EoL management
requirements (Libby and Shaw 2018). In addition, costs related to disassembly, collection,
sorting, handling, transportation, and operations are often not well documented in analyses to
date, which further complicates cost estimate calculations (Salim et al. 2019; Libby and Shaw
2018).
2.2.3 Economic Incentive Barriers
The third group of policy barriers is concerned with the lack of policies to incentivize PV module
recycling. The collection, transport, and recycling of PV modules is currently cost prohibitive
and more expensive than disposal (Salim et al. 2019; Libby and Shaw 2018; Kadro and Hagfeldt
2017). PV recycling processes are neither automated nor cost-effective, and data on the costs
associated with PV module recycling is limited (Heath et al. 2020; Salim et al. 2019; Libby and
Shaw 2018). Anecdotal evidence suggests that the cost of module recycling in the United States
ranges from $15-45 per module, while one study found that disposal tipping fees at non-
hazardous landfills ($26/U.S. ton) can cost less than $1 per module and less than $5 per module
at hazardous waste landfills ($175/U.S. ton) (ASES 2020; CSSA 2020; Ablison Energy 2020;
Evergreen Solar 2020; Intermountain Wind & Solar 2020; CitiGreen, Inc. 2019; Green Coast
2019; Alba Energy 2018; EnergySage 2018; Libby and Shaw 2018).
5
As a result, anecdotal
5
We calculated the per module disposal cost by estimating a typical module weight of 33-50 pounds (Ablison
Energy 2020; Evergreen Solar 2020; Intermountain Wind & Solar 2020; CitiGreen, Inc. 2019; Green Coast 2019;
Alba Energy 2018; EnergySage 2018; Wholesale Solar 2011) and using the per ton landfill tipping costs of $26/
10
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evidence suggest that most early retired and EoL PV modules are landfilled or otherwise
disposed of resulting in less than 10% of modules being recycled in the United States (ASES
2020; CSSA 2020; Salim et al. 2019; CPUC 2019b; DTSC 2019b; NREL 2019a). By
comparison, in Europe, where countries have nationwide policies that mandate PV module
recycling, the cost of recycling is as low as $0.70 per module and recycling rates are as high as
95% (CSSA 2020; ASES 2020). In addition, there are no federal, state, or local incentives to help
overcome these costs and enable PV module recycling in the United States (Salim et al. 2019;
Libby and Shaw 2018; Kadro and Hagfeldt 2017). Nor are there many federal, state, or private
industry funded incentives (i.e., subsidies, grants, awards) to promote U.S. research and
development activities for designing easy-to-recycle PV modules (Besiou and Van Wassenhove
2016).
2.2.4 Regulatory Barriers
The last two policy barriers concern the current regulatory scheme for the EoL management and
recycling of PV modules. First, few policies in the United States mandate a particular EoL PV
management fate or incentivize PV module recycling. No federal or state laws directly ban the
disposal of PV modules in landfills, and only one state (Washington state) requires the collection
and recycling or reuse of EoL PV modules (NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; Wash. Rev. Code §
70A.510.010 et seq. [2018]).
Second, solid waste permitting requirements in the United States are complex and vary by
jurisdiction. In addition, federal, state, and local solid waste laws often regulate PV modules
being recycled in the same manner as PV modules being disposed of, which does not provide an
incentive to recycle. This is especially true because the economics and accessibility of disposal
are more favorable than recycling. Federal, state, and local governments may regulate the
handling, transport, storage, accumulation, treatment, and recycling of PV modules as solid
waste or hazardous waste pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
(RCRA) (Curtis et al. 2021b;; NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; DTSC 2019b; Evelyn Butler, Solar
Energy Industries Association, telephone conference, February 8, 2019; Matthew Garamone and
Parikhit Sinha, First Solar, telephone conference March 4, 2019; Tim Kimmel, Cleanlites
Recycling, telephone conference March 5, 2019; Gary Winslow, MiaSolé, email, March 12,
2019; John Martorano, Magnum Computer Recycling, telephone conference July 31, 2019). The
complexity of the regulatory scheme and the associated costs and liabilities associated with
compliance may create a level of risk that inhibits PV module recycling in the United States
(Salim et al., 2019; CPUC 2019; NREL 2019; Libby and Shaw 2018).
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
RCRA regulates the management of non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste in the United
States (42 U.S.C. §§ 6901-6992k). RCRA is a pollution prevention regulatory scheme that was
designed “to promote the protection of health and the environment” and “to conserve valuable
material and energy resources” (42 U.S.C. §§ 6901[a]-[d]). Subtitle D of RCRA grants authority
to states to regulate non-hazardous waste pursuant to federal guidelines, while Subtitle C of
RCRA grants authority to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate hazardous
U.S. ton to $89/U.S. ton for nonhazardous Subtitle D landfills and $175/U.S. ton for hazardous Subtitle C landfills
provided by (Libby and Shaw 2018).
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solid waste. There are two potential barriers associated with RCRA’s regulatory scheme that may
impede PV module recycling and resource recovery efforts in the United States:
1. EPA’s solid waste management plan guidance pursuant to Subtitle D of RCRA has created
confusion around the differences between solid waste recovery activities and recycling
efforts; and
2. EPA’s expanded regulatory definition of solid waste, pursuant to Subtitle C of RCRA,
includes recyclable material as “other discarded materials,” which may inhibit recycling and
resource recovery efforts.
(40 C.F.R. §§ 246.101[v], [w], [x]; 40 C.F.R. § 261.2[a][2][B], [c]; Waterfield 2019; CPUC
2019; NREL 2019; Danielle Waterfield and David Wagger, Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries, Inc., telephone conference, April 25, 2019; Cavender 2015; Gaba 2008; Sweeny
1996; Johnson 1991; Gaba 1989).
These two identified barriers seem to have caused confusion about what constitutes “solid waste”
within the context of both the Subtitle D regulation of non-hazardous solid waste and the Subtitle
C regulation of hazardous solid waste (Waterfield 2019; NREL 2019; Danielle Waterfield and
David Wagger, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., telephone conference, April 25,
2019; Cavender 2015; Gaba 2008; Sweeny 1996; Johnson 1991; Gaba 1989). Although the
underlying goals of each subtitle are not generally controversial, the definition as to what
constitutes solid waste within the context of each subtitle is the subject of debate and has resulted
in regulatory confusion (Waterfield 2019; NREL 2019; Danielle Waterfield and David Wagger,
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., telephone conference, April 25, 2019; Cavender
2015; Gaba 2008; Sweeny 1996; Johnson 1991; Gaba 1989). The crux of the issue boils down to
the meaning of the phrase “and other discarded materials” in the statutory definition of solid
waste (Waterfield 2019; Danielle Waterfield and David Wagger, Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries, Inc., telephone conference, April 25, 2019; Cavender 2015; Sweeny 1996; Johnson
1991; Gaba 1989), which is further explained below.
RCRA defines “solid waste” as
any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment
plant, or air pollution control facility, and other discarded material, including
solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial,
commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities,
but does not include solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or
dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are
point sources subject to permits under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, as amended (86 stat. 880), or source, special nuclear, or byproduct
material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (68 Stat.
923)(42 U.S.C. § 6903[27] [emphasis added]).
RCRA Subtitle D: State or Regional Solid Waste Plans
Subtitle D of RCRA was designed to:
assist in developing and encouraging methods for the disposal of solid waste
which are environmentally sound, and which maximize the utilization of valuable
resources including energy and materials which are recoverable from solid waste
and to encourage resource conservation (42 U.S.C § 6941[b]).
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In fact, Subtitle D’s congressional findings specifically focus on energy and materials
conservation and recovery (42 U.S.C. § 6941a [1]-[6]). It is important to note that in enacting
Subtitle D, Congress found that:
• Significant savings could be realized by conserving materials in order to reduce the
volume or quantity of material which ultimately becomes waste;
• Solid waste contains valuable energy and material resources which can be recovered and
used thereby conserving increasingly scarce and expensive fossil fuels and virgin
materials;
• The recovery of energy and materials from municipal waste, and the conservation of
energy and materials contributing to such waste streams, can have the effect of reducing
the volume of the municipal waste stream and the burden of disposing of increasing
volumes of solid waste;
• The technology to conserve resources exists and is commercially feasible to apply; and
• The technology to recover energy and materials from solid waste is of demonstrated
commercial feasibility (42 U.S.C. §§ 6941a[1]-[5]).
Congress granted the EPA authority to establish “guidelines for [non-hazardous] solid waste
collection, transportation, separation, recovery, and disposal practices and systems” and
“cooperative efforts among the [f]ederal, [s]tate, and local governments and private enterprise in
order to recover valuable materials and energy from solid waste” (42 U.S.C. §§ 6902[a][8],[11]).
Despite the congressional intent of Subtitle D, some argue the EPA’s guidelines for state solid
waste management plans
6
confuse “recyclable materials” with “solid waste” and “recycling”
with “solid waste resource recovery activities” (Waterfield 2019; Danielle Waterfield and David
Wagger, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., telephone conference, April 25, 2019;
Johnson 1991; Gaba 1989).
Although recyclable materials and recycling are not mentioned in EPA’s state solid management
guidelines, the guidelines define a solid waste “facility” as “any resource recovery system…for
the collection, source separation, storage, transportation, transfer, processing, treatment or
disposal of solid waste” (40 C.F.R. §256.06 [emphasis added]). The EPA’s state solid waste
management guidelines do not define resource recovery, but the EPA’s implementing regulations
for Subtitle D define “recovery” to mean “the process of obtaining materials or energy resources
from solid waste” (40 C.F.R. § 246.101[v]). In addition, the EPA has defined “recycling” under
the implementing regulations to mean “the process by which recovered materials are transformed
into new products” (40 C.F.R. § 246.101[x]). Many state and local regulators have interpreted
these regulations to mean that “recycling” is a solid waste resource recovery activity, rather than
a physical process used to convert material into a valuable product or commodity (Waterfield
2019; Danielle Waterfield and David Wagger, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc.,
telephone conference, April 25, 2019; Johnson 1991). Further complicating the issue is the fact
that the EPA’s implementing regulations do not define “recyclable material,” nor does RCRA
provide a statutory definition of “recycling” or “recyclable materials.”
6
These guidelines are outlined in 40 C.F.R. §§ 256.01-256.65.
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As a result, state and local governments often classify and regulate all recycling activities as
solid waste activities in the context of a “resource recovery system”
7
which may impede
recycling efforts (Waterfield 2019; Danielle Waterfield and David Wagger, Institute of Scrap
Recycling Industries, Inc., telephone conference, April 25, 2019; Johnson 1991). For example, if
PV modules destined for resource recovery are regulated in the same manner as PV modules
being disposed of, then there is no regulatory incentive to recycle because the requirements,
costs, and liabilities are the same. This is especially true when the economics and accessibility of
disposal are more favorable than recycling, which is the case for PV module recycling and
disposal options in the U.S. today. Many state and local governments have understood the EPA’s
Subtitle D guidelines to mean that recyclable materials (e.g., PV modules) destined for recycling
and resource recovery are solid waste and subject to regulation by the state’s solid waste
management plan (Waterfield 2019; Danielle Waterfield and David Wagger, Institute of Scrap
Recycling Industries, Inc., telephone conference, April 25, 2019).
RCRA Subtitle C: National Hazardous Waste Management Program
Subtitle C of RCRA was designed to “protect human health and the environment” from the
generation, recycling, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste
8
(42
U.S.C. §§ 6901[b][2], 6901[b][5], 6901[b][7], 6902[a][4],[b], 6921[a], 6922[a], 6923[a],
6924[a]). Subtitle C of RCRA directs the EPA to “develop and promulgate criteria for
identifying the characteristics of hazardous waste” (42 U.S.C. §§ 6901-6939g). In doing so, the
EPA expanded the definition of “other discarded materials” to include “any material which is
recycled—or accumulated, stored, or treated before recycling…” (40 C.F.R. § 261.2[a][2][B],
[c]).
9
Some argue this expanded definition of “other discarded materials” conflates recycled materials
with solid waste and has created a presumption that all materials destined for recycling and
resource recovery are solid waste (Waterfield 2019; Danielle Waterfield and David Wagger,
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., telephone conference, April 25, 2019; NREL 2019;
Cavender 2015; Gaba 2008; Sweeny 1996; Johnson 1991; Gaba 1989). As mentioned above, this
issue is further compounded by the fact that RCRA uses the term “recycling” seven times
without providing a statutory definition (42 U.S.C. §§ 6901-6992k [1976]; Waterfield 2019). Nor
does the statute define “recyclable material” (42 U.S.C. §§ 6901-6992k [1976]). As a result, the
conservation and recovery of valuable resources from first life materials, like EoL PV modules,
has been hindered by stringent regulatory requirements that regulate the generation,
accumulation, collection, transport, storage, and treatment of hazardous solid waste (Waterfield
7
RCRA defines a “resource recovery system” as “any facility at which solid waste is processed for the purpose of
extracting, converting to energy, or otherwise separating and preparing solid waste for reuse” (42 U.S.C. §
6903[24]).
8
RCRA defines “hazardous waste” as “a solid waste, or combination of solid wastes, which because of its quantity,
concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may—cause, or significantly contribute to an
increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or pose a substantial
present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or
disposed of, or otherwise managed” (42 U.S.C. § 6903[5]).
9
The initial version of the EPA’s Subtitle C regulatory definition of “solid waste” was based on a narrow
interpretation of “other discarded materials” (45 Fed. Reg. 33091 [May 19, 1980, No. 98]). “Initially there was
widespread agreement that the statutory definition of ‘solid waste’ and ‘other discarded materials’ encompassed
materials which were destined for disposal, rather than recycling” (Waterfield 2019; Danielle Waterfield and David
Wagger, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., telephone conference, April 25, 2019).
14
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2019; Danielle Waterfield and David Wagger, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc.,
telephone conference, April 25, 2019; CPUC 2019; NREL 2019; Evelyn Butler, Solar Energy
Industries Association, telephone conference, February 8, 2019; Cavender 2015; Gaba 2008;
Sweeny 1996; Johnson 1991; Gaba 1989).
RCRA Implications for PV Recycling and Resource Recovery
Some states are classifying and regulating EoL PV modules destined for recycling and resource
recovery as solid waste, which subjects them to the state’s solid waste management requirements
and potentially to federal and state hazardous waste management requirements (Libby and Shaw
2018; NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; DTSC 2019b; Evelyn Butler, Solar Energy Industries
Association, telephone conference, February 8, 2019; Matthew Garamone and Parikhit Sinha,
First Solar, telephone conference March 4, 2019; Tim Kimmel, Cleanlites Recycling, telephone
conference March 5, 2019; Gary Winslow, MiaSolé, email, March 12, 2019; John Martorano,
Magnum Computer Recycling, telephone conference July 31, 2019). The classification of EoL
PV modules as solid waste and potentially hazardous waste has led to several barriers to
recycling efforts in the United States, including:
• Classification as solid waste triggers several expensive and variable management
requirements and restrictions, such as the requirement to determine whether the solid
waste is hazardous and must be regulated as hazardous waste. A generator
10
of hazardous
waste must accurately determine whether a solid waste is hazardous or not by using their
knowledge and/or through the testing of a representative sample by conducting a toxicity
characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) or a state equivalent to determine whether a PV
module exhibits hazardous characteristics which are costly and have been found to be
highly variable (40 C.F.R. § 261.11). Studies have found that TCLP results for c-Si PV
modules vary depend on the sampling location, the sample removal method, the
temperature of the glass at the time of sampling, and the test laboratory conducting the
TCLP analysis (Curtis et al. 2021b; Libby and Shaw 2018; NREL 2019a).
• If classified as hazardous waste, the generation, transport, storage, accumulation, and
treatment of PV modules are subject to strict and costly regulatory requirements and
subject the actor (e.g., asset owner) to civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance.
These requirements could impact anyone who manages EoL PV modules at any point
from module decommissioning to recycling;
• Transporters of PV modules destined for recycling, which are regulated as hazardous
waste, may also be subject to specific packaging, documentation, and other transit-related
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Hazardous Materials Regulations for highway,
rail, air, and vessel transport (Curtis et al. 2021b; 49 U.S.C. §§ 5101-5128; 49 C.F.R. §§
171-180).
10
A “generator” is “any person, by site, whose act or process produces hazardous waste…or whose act first causes
hazardous waste to become subject to regulation” (40 C.F.R. §260.10).
15
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• Exporters of PV modules destined for recycling, which are regulated as hazardous waste
from the U.S. to other countries may trigger compliance with RCRA and international
transboundary requirements, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) Council Decision on the Control of Transboundary Movements of
Wastes Destined for Recovery Operations, and the Basel Convention
11
on the
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Curtis et al. 2021b;
40 C.F.R. §§ 262.80, 262.81; EPA 2019e; EPA 2019f; Daniel Stoehr, Daniels Training
Services, Inc., teleconference, August 30, 2019).
• Certain jurisdictions may presume that EoL PV modules are not only solid waste, but
hazardous waste;
12
• Certain jurisdictions may classify PV system owners and operators of decommissioned PV
modules as solid waste generators and possibly hazardous waste generators;
• Certain jurisdictions may classify recycling facilities as solid waste handling facilities, or
potentially hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities;
• Certain jurisdictions may apply zoning ordinances designed to regulate solid waste
management facilities to recycling facilities;
• Certain jurisdictions may apply permitting requirements, designed for solid waste
collection vehicles, to collection and transport haulers for materials, such as EoL PV
modules (Waterfield 2019; NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; DTSC 2019b; Evelyn Butler, Solar
Energy Industries Association, telephone conference, February 8, 2019; John Martorano,
Magnum Computer Recycling, telephone conference July 31, 2019; Libby and Shaw
2018; Leslie 2018).
2.3 Enablers to PV Module Recycling
Enablers are solutions or ways to overcome a barrier that inhibits a desired behavior or outcome.
Federal, state, and industry policy can enable a desired behavior or outcome. In this section, we
outline policy solutions that may enable PV module recycling. Table 3 summarizes those
enablers.
11
The United States is not a party to the Basel Convention; however, the OECD requirements largely reflect the
Basel Convention requirements (Jordan Rivera, U.S. Department of Transportation, Headquarters, email, September
30, 2020; Neal Suchak, U.S. Department of Transportation, Headquarters, email, September 30, 2020).
12
Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a perception that California, which has more stringent hazardous waste
requirements than the federal standard, may presume decommissioned PV modules destined for recycling are non-
RCRA, California-only hazardous waste (CPUC 2019; DTSC 2019b; Gary Winslow, MiaSolé, email, March 12,
2019; Eric Stikes and Vince Lucia, Good Sun, teleconference, August 26, 2019). Anecdotal evidence suggests there
is a perception that regulators in New Jersey and Arizona may also presume decommissioned PV modules destined
for recycling are not only solid waste, but hazardous solid waste (NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; John Martorano,
Magnum Computer Recycling, telephone conference July 31, 2019).
16
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Table 3. Potential Enablers to PV Module Recycling
Enabler
Description
Actor(s)
Increased research
and analysis
Policy focus and investment supporting creation
of publicly available research and analysis
regarding EoL PV module management
uncertainties on:
• The value of and markets for recovered
PV module materials
• The volume and composition of EoL PV
modules
• PV module recycling technology
development and infrastructure needs
• Permitting requirements and liabilities,
and
• The costs associated with PV module
recycling.
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler,
Recycler, End User,
Government
Increased and
publicly available
information and
information exchange
Information exchange between manufacturers
and recyclers, as well as between end users and
landfill owners and operators, can reduce costs,
liability uncertainties and increase good faith
relationships between solar industry
stakeholders
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler,
Recycler, End User,
Landfill Owner/Operator
Increased economic
incentives
Economic incentives given to promote design for
recycle and/or collection and recycling can
encourage innovation, private industry
investment, and make the economics for PV
module recycling more desirable
Manufacturers, Owners,
Operators, Installers,
Logistics Companies,
Recyclers, End Users,
Landfill
Owners/Operators,
Government
Industry initiatives,
standards, and goals
Global and national voluntary industry initiatives
(e.g., SEIA’s national PV recycling program),
standards (e.g., NSF 457) and goals (e.g.,
resource recovery) can encourage
environmentally sustainable business practices
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Government
Clearly defined laws
and regulations
Clearly defined regulatory requirements and
restrictions can reduce uncertainty and risk
associated with PV module recycling and
resource recovery
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler,
Recycler, End user,
Government
Statutory and
regulatory schemes
that support PV
module recycling and
resource recovery
efforts
Federal and state policies can require or
incentivize the collection and recycling of PV
modules and/or restrict disposal of PV modules
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler,
Recycler, End User,
Government
2.3.1 Research and Development Enablers
Policy focus and investment in publicly available research and analysis regarding EoL module
management uncertainties can enable PV module recycling and resource recovery (Salim et al.
2019; CPUC 2019; NREL 2019; Libby and Shaw 2018; Tura et al. 2018). Understanding the
value of and markets for recovered materials and the volume of decommissioned PV modules is
important to identify the market value and current demand of recovered materials from EoL PV
modules and expected profits and supply (Salim et al. 2019; Weckend et al. 2016). PV module
17
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recycling infrastructure needs, associated costs, and the most effective recycling technology for
recovering high-value materials are important variables, which are necessary to determine in
order to encourage investment and reduce economic uncertainty (Curtis et al. 2021b; Salim et al.
2019; Tura et al. 2018). In addition, understanding the capital costs associated with developing
collection centers, constructing PV recycling facilities, and purchasing recycling equipment can
reduce economic uncertainty and investor risk (Choi 2017; D’Adamo 2017).
Standardized PV module designs that also account for ease of recycling could enable more
efficient PV recycling (Heath et al. 2020). A standardized module design could enable faster,
easier, and potentially even automated disassembly and recycling (Heath et al. 2020). Better
insight and analysis on future PV module designs and chemistries could also inform which
technologies may be needed to meet future PV recycling needs (Heath et al. 2020). Similarly,
evolving trends in PV module designs and chemistries can impact the supply, demand, and value
of certain raw materials for future manufacturing needs as well as life expectancy values (e.g.,
when and in what volume PV modules will require recycling) (Curtis et al. 2021b; Heath et al.
2020).
Moreover, reverse logistical costs are highly variable, and identifying the location of current
recycling infrastructure in relation to near-term EoL PV systems can inform hauling costs as well
as guide future infrastructure development (Libby and Shaw 2018). Understanding the regulatory
framework associated with recycling EoL PV modules also informs recyclers, haulers, logistics
companies, and other EoL management stakeholders about permitting and compliance
requirements, costs and liabilities (Curtis et al. 2021b).
2.3.2 Information Exchange Enablers
Reliable information on the makeup and the concentration of materials in a given PV panel
model could reduce the costs associated with recycling and resource recovery efforts (Salim et
al. 2019; NREL 2019; Tura et al. 2018; Besiou and Van Wassenhove 2016). Labeling
requirements could enable information exchange between manufacturers and EoL PV
management stakeholders and act as a stop gap measure for those manufacturers that go out of
business before the PV module is decommissioned (PSI 2018). This knowledge could eliminate
the need to conduct TCLP testing that is required when PV modules are classified as solid waste
since generators can use knowledge instead to determine hazardous characteristics (40 CFR §
262.11[d][1]; Libby and Shaw 2018). In addition, transparent information exchange can
strengthen relationships between different solar industry stakeholders and help ensure the safe
handling and EoL treatment of PV modules.
2.3.3 Economic Incentive Enablers
Economic incentives could help enable PV module recycling and resource recovery efforts in the
United States. Government subsidies, grants, and awards can encourage innovation through
research and development as well as private industry investment making the economics of
recycling more desirable. Similarly, policies that provide a tax credit to incentivize business
investment could support the growth of PV recycling or design for recycle, while policies that
penalize disposal of PV modules (e.g., surcharge) could indirectly incentivize PV recycling. -
Government grants and awards, as well as private investment, can also enable design-for-
environment technologies that not only increase the life expectancy of PV modules but are also
designed for ease of recycling (Besiou and Van Wassenhove 2016; Salim et al. 2019).
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2.3.4 Industry-Led Enablers
Industry-led initiatives and standards can encourage environmentally sustainable EoL
management decisions for PV modules (Tura et al. 2018; Bai et al. 2015; Dong et al. 2016).
Solar industry-led initiatives such as the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) National
PV Recycling Program highlights the solar industry’s motivation to adopt sustainable EoL
management practices despite the absence of favorable policy or economic drivers. Industry-led
initiatives like SEIA’s PV Recycling Program make it easier for incumbent and new market
entrants alike to recycle EoL PV modules, inverters, and other system equipment (SEIA 2019b).
Similarly, global and national voluntary industry standards can encourage environmentally
sustainable EoL management decisions for PV (Tura et al. 2018; Bai et al. 2015; Dong et al.
2016). Voluntary industry standards often provide a set of criteria or guidelines for industry to
follow to achieve a particular outcome or goal. These standards may include a certification
program to reward compliance with a given standard. Certifications are typically awarded after
confirmation of compliance by third-party authorities through testing and audits.
There are several PV specific voluntary industry standards that may enable environmentally
sustainable EoL management decisions and behaviors and may provide benefits to stakeholder
participants. The benefits could include improved performance quality, stakeholder trust, market
competitiveness, and/or reduction of liability. For example, the NSF International (NSF) and
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 457 Sustainability Leadership Standard for PV
Modules and Inverters provides performance criteria for PV manufacturers to establish
environmentally sustainable policies, including responsible EoL management practices and
design for recycling (NSF International 2019). Other voluntary industry standards that are not
specific to PV may also enable recycling and resource recovery efforts of EoL PV modules in the
United States. For example, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)’s 14001
Environmental Management Systems standard establishes environmental performance
requirements that may help a company achieve a specific environmental objective, which could
incorporate a particular EoL management fate for PV modules and system components (ISO
2015). Table 4 highlights some of the benefits solar industry stakeholders may gain from
complying with voluntary industry standards or engaging in industry-led initiatives like SEIA’s
National PV Recycling Program.
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Table 4. Benefits of Complying with Industry Standards
Benefit
Description
Actor(s)
Enhance
competitiveness
Can give a company a competitive edge
over other companies by incorporating
business practices that reduce costs and
increase consumer trust
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler, Recycler,
End user, Government
Increase consumer
confidence in
environmentally
sustainable handling
Can increase a consumer’s confidence
and trust in the company’s business
practices
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler, Recycler,
End user, Landfill
Owner/Operator
Demonstrate
commitment to quality
and/or improvement
Can demonstrate the company’s
commitment to quality and/or
improvement, and in turn increase
consumer confidence and a company’s
competitiveness
Manufacturer, Owner,
Operator, Installer, Logistics
Company, Recycler, End User,
Landfill Owners/Operators,
Provide clear quality
benchmarks for
employees
Can provide clear quality benchmarks to
ensure consistency and high-quality
products
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler, Recycler,
End User, Government
Support due diligence
for corporate social
responsibility
Can support due diligence and increase
product quality and the company’s social
responsibility image
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler, Recycler
Reduce legal concern
related to hazardous
waste management
Can reduce the liability associated with
hazardous products
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler, Recycler,
End User
Reduce environmental
and human health
impacts
Can require the reduction of product and
business practice impacts on the
environment and human health
Manufacturer, PV Owner,
O&M, Installer, Logistics
Company, Hauler, Recycler,
End User, Government
2.3.5 Statutory and Regulatory Enablers
Clearly defined regulatory requirements can reduce uncertainty and risk associated with
recycling PV modules (NREL 2019; CPUC 2019; Salim et al. 2019). Regulation can also
mandate or incentivize environmentally sustainable EoL PV module management decisions or
prohibit a particular behavior (Salim et al. 2019; CPUC 2019; Salim et al. 2019; Weckend et al.
2016). A multi-faceted regulatory approach placing management and financial responsibility on
multiple PV supply chain actors may enable an EoL PV management strategy for the solar
industry without overburdening one actor.
The statutory and regulatory framework could also take into consideration current law and,
where possible, act in concert with existing policy. For instances, policies that reduce the
regulatory burden of recycling PV modules compared to disposal can complement renewable
portfolio standards and environmental policies by ensuring increased deployment is met with
enhanced resource recovery. End-of-life PV module management policies could also leverage
existing laws. For example, states could utilize existing EoL product policies that prohibit
disposal (e.g., refrigerators, HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] systems,
electronics) and add an additional category to include PV modules.
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To date, the two most common regulatory mechanisms used to encourage recycling and resource
recovery of other consumer product materials are: (1) extended producer responsibility policies
(EPR); and (2) landfill diversion policies. These policy mechanisms have largely been applied to
the U.S. electronics industry, but no publicly available study comprehensively analyzes the
advantages, challenges, and overall success of these policies or how they compare to other
regulatory models (e.g., point-of-sale fee model).
13
More importantly, there is no publicly
available analysis regarding whether EPR and landfill diversion policies, especially those
designed for EoL electronic products, are well suited for EoL PV modules. Although certain
electronics, like liquid crystal display (LCD) panels and monitors, have similarities to PV
modules based on their sandwich-like structure, high glass content, and the difficulty of
recovering valuable materials during the recycling process, they have a substantially shorter life
expectancy than PV modules, among other differing characteristics.
A review of EPR, landfill diversion, and other regulatory EoL product management policies for
other industries, such as those in place for electronics, could provide valuable insight for solar
industry stakeholders, regulators and policymakers as they start to identify regulatory barriers
and policy solutions to encourage environmentally sustainable EoL PV management decisions
and behaviors. This report does not endorse one particular policy mechanism or framework over
another. This report provides a survey of electronic EoL policies in the United States because
EPR and landfill diversion policies, applied to the U.S. electronics industry, are two common
regulatory mechanisms used to encourage product resource recovery. This report focuses
specifically on electronic EoL management policies that include or could include LCD panels
and monitors based on their similarities to PV modules as explained above. See Table C-1 for
more information on U.S. electronic EoL policies.
Extended Producer Responsibility Policies
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a type of product stewardship policy that requires
manufacturers of a product, such as electronics or PV modules, to physically and/or financially
provide for the collection and recovery of those EoL products (Atasu and Subramanian 2012;
Salim et al. 2019). The goal of EPR is to create environmentally sustainable business practices
and products (e.g., design for recycle) (ERI 2016). EPR can include a variety of requirements:
• A registration requirement for manufacturers who sell a regulated product in the
regulating state
• A requirement for the manufacturer to label the regulated product it sells in the state
• A requirement for product manufacturers to take back some portion of the regulated
products they sell in the state and reuse or recycle the product
• A requirement for either the state regulatory agency and/or manufacturers to educate the
public on product recycling and other related topics.
As of 2019, no federal electronic device EoL management requirements exist, but 21 states and
the District of Columbia have EPR programs in place that mandate electronic manufacturers to
take back covered electronic devices (CEDs) sold to customers and to reuse or recycle those
13
A point-of-sale fee model is a regulatory scheme where the purchaser pays an upfront fee at the point of purchase
and that fee goes towards the EoL management of that product. California utilizes this model for certain EoL
electronic products (Cal. Public Resources Code §§ 42460-486 [2003]).
21
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CEDs sold.
14
These policies explicitly include or could include LCDs. All 22 jurisdictions with
some type of EPR program in place require that the manufacturer who sells a regulated CED to
register that product in that jurisdiction.
15
Three of those states have mandates for either the state
regulatory agency and/or the manufacturers to educate the public about product recycling and
other related topics.
16
Figure 1 illustrates the number of jurisdictions with some type of EPR
program in place and the breakdown of different types of EPR requirements.
Figure 1. EPR policies and breakdown by requirement type
Landfill Bans
Landfill bans typically prohibit anyone from “knowingly” disposing of a regulated product in a
municipal non-hazardous solid waste (MSW) landfill; however, some policies do not require that
a person have knowledge of disposal to incur liability. As such, an MSW landfill owner who
unknowingly disposes of a regulated product could be subject to civil or administrative fines or
penalties, or criminal violations, depending on the policy. As of 2019, no federal policies ban the
disposal of electronic devices, but 17 states and the District of Columbia have enacted some type
of landfill ban for CEDs that explicitly include, or are broad enough that they could include,
14
There are several different electronic EPR programs in the United States that have varying registration and
labeling requirements, funding structures, takeback requirements, and public education requirements. As of 2019,
Maryland does not have an EPR program in place but does have a voluntary manufacturer takeback policy for
CEDs. Maryland is not represented in Figure 1.
15
As of 2019, California, Maryland, and Utah also have a registration requirement for electronic manufacturers but
do not utilize an EPR policy model (mandatory manufacturer takeback requirement) and are not represented in
Figure 1.
16
As of 2019, Colorado, Maryland, and Utah (voluntary) also have public education policies in place but do not
utilize an EPR policy model (mandatory manufacturer takeback requirement) and are not represented in Figure 1.
22 22 22
3
0
5
10
15
20
25
Number of Jurisdictions
U.S. Jurisdictions with EPR Policies and Types of EPR Requirements
U.S. Jurisdictions with Electronics EPR Policies
Total EPR Programs Registration Requirement
Takeback Requirement Public Education Requirement
22
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LCDs.
17
Of those 18 jurisdictions, 15 also require at least some elements of an EPR program
(e.g., registration, take back, or public education). Figure 2 illustrates the total number of states
with a CED landfill diversion policy and of those total number of states with a CED landfill
diversion policy, those that also have some type of EPR program, in addition to a landfill ban.
Figure 2. U.S. jurisdictions with electronic landfill ban policies and EPR requirements
3 Enacted PV Module Recycling Policies in the United
States
This section analyzes state policies
18
that explicitly address PV module recycling. Washington,
New Jersey, North Carolina, and California are the only U.S. states with laws or regulations that
directly address PV module recycling. However, California, Hawaii, and Rhode Island have
proposed bills, that, if enacted, would directly address PV modules recycling. There are also
state-led working groups in California, Illinois, and Minnesota to study EoL management
options, which include recycling PV modules. Figure 3 maps state policies in the United States
that address PV module recycling. This report section summarizes these policies and identifies
several associated potential advantages and challenges of each policy. We characterize
“advantages” as potential factors that enable PV module recycling in the United States and
contribute to the overall success of the policy’s intended purpose. By contrast, we characterize
17
As of 2019, one state (West Virginia) recently changed its landfill ban to a conditional landfill ban. CEDs are
banned from solid waste landfills in West Virginia only if a county or regional solid waste authority determines that
there is a cost-effective recycling alternative for handling CEDs (WVDEP 2016). West Virginia’s conditional
landfill ban is represented in Figure 2. As of July 2019, Berkeley County is the only county in the state that is
enforcing the ban (Nicole Hunter, West Virginia Solid Waste Management Board, email, July 3, 2019).
18
We use “policy” in this report broadly to include not only state statutory and regulatory requirements but also
government initiatives and goals and independently formed working groups.
18
15
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Number of States
U.S. Jurisdictions with Landfill Bans and EPR Requirements
U.S. Jurisdictions with Electronic Landfill Ban Policies and
EPR Requirements
Total Number of Jurisdictions with Landfill Bans
Total Number of Jurisdictions that have a Landfill Ban in addition to a EPR Requirement
23
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“challenges” as potential factors that may impede PV module recycling in the United States and
the overall success of the policy’s intended purpose.
Figure 3. Enacted PV module recycling policies
3.1 Washington State’s PV Module Stewardship and Takeback
Program
In 2017, the Washington State Legislature passed Senate Bill 5939 to promote a sustainable local
renewable energy industry through modifying tax incentives (S.B. 5939, 65th Leg., 3rd Spec.
Sess. (Wa) [2018]).
19
A portion of the bill created the Photovoltaic Module Stewardship and
Takeback Program which requires PV module manufacturers
20
to finance and implement a
takeback and recycling or reuse stewardship plan for PV modules sold after July 1, 2022, at no
cost to the owner (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[5]). Beginning July 1, 2023, no
manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or installer may sell or offer to sell PV modules within or into
19
This law was amended in 2020 by Section 1 of House Bill 2645 ((H.B. 2645, 2019-2020 Leg., Reg. Sess. [Wash.
2020]). Section 2 of House Bill 2645 was vetoed by the Governor and is discussed briefly in Section 5 of this report.
20
“Manufacturer” means “any person in business or no longer in business but having a successor in interest who,
irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance or remote sale: (i) Manufactures or has
manufactured a photovoltaic module under its own brand names for use or sale in or into this state; (ii) Assembles or
has assembled a photovoltaic module that uses parts manufactured by others for use or sale in or into this state under
the assembler's brand names; (iii) Resells or has resold in or into this state under its own brand names a photovoltaic
module produced by other suppliers, including retail establishments that sell photovoltaic modules under their own
brand names; (iv) Manufactures or has manufactured a cobranded photovoltaic module product for use or sale in or
into this state that carries the name of both the manufacturer and a retailer; (v) Imports or has imported a
photovoltaic module into the United States that is used or sold in or into this state. However, if the imported
photovoltaic module is manufactured by any person with a presence in the United States meeting the criteria of
manufacturer under (i) through (vi) of this subsection, that person is the manufacturer
(vi) Sells at retail a photovoltaic module acquired from an importer that is the manufacturer and elects to register as
the manufacturer for those products; or (vii) Elects to assume the responsibility and register in lieu of a
manufacturer” (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[2][c]; WSDE 2019a; WSDE 2019b).
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Washington unless the manufacturer has submitted and obtained approval for a stewardship plan
from the Washington Department of Ecology (Department) (Wash. Rev. Code §
70A.510.010[8]). PV modules covered by the state’s Module Stewardship and Takeback
Program include:
• PV modules used for residential, commercial, or agricultural purposes that are installed
on, connected to, or integral with buildings
• Freestanding off-grid power generation systems such as water pumping stations, electric
vehicle charging stations, solar fencing, solar-powered signs, and solar-powered
streetlights21
• PV modules that are part of a system connected to the grid or utility service (Wash. Rev.
Code § 70A.510.010[2][e]; WSDE 2019b).
Manufacturer Requirements
Manufacturers must complete and submit a stewardship plan to the Department, then implement
the plan by July 1, 2022. Manufacturers can create and implement stewardship plans individually
or join a registered stewardship organization and allow that organization to create and implement
the plan on the manufacturer's behalf (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[2][g], [4], [5]). The
stewardship plan must outline how the manufacturer will:
• Finance the takeback program
• Accept all PV modules they have sold within or into the state after July 1, 2017
• Minimize the release of hazardous substances and maximize the recovery of other
components
• Provide convenient take back opportunities in regions of Washington where its modules
are used
• Disseminate applicable information about its program to relevant stakeholders
• Implement performance goals to reuse and/or recycle at least 85% of the PV modules the
manufacturer collects (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[5]).
After initial approval of the stewardship plans, the manufacturer must submit and publicly
publish annual reports about the previous year's implementation of the manufacturer's plan,
including achievement assessments of the plan's performance goals and recommendations to the
Department of Ecology or the Washington State Legislature on potential modifications to
improve the effectiveness of the takeback program. (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[6], [7]).
Department of Ecology Regulatory Authority and Program Financing
The Department of Ecology approves each manufacturer's plan and reviews subsequent annual
reports. In addition, the Department of Ecology may collect a flat fee from every participating
manufacturer to cover the costs of administering the program and an annual fee from each
manufacturer based on the manufacturer's pro rata share of the preceding year's PV module sales
in Washington state (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[9]). The Department of Ecology may,
after warning noncompliant manufacturers of their need to comply, impose a penalty of up to
21
Washington State’s Module Stewardship and Takeback Program does not cover consumer electronic devices that
contain electronic circuit boards intended for everyday use by individuals, such as watches or calculators, or
products used in yard applications, such as walkway lighting (WSDE 2019b).
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$10,000 per sale of a PV module in Washington state (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[8]). The
Department of Ecology must deposit all fees and penalties into a PV module recycling account,
which can only be used for funding the program's administration costs (Wash. Rev. Code §
70A.510.010[10]).
In July 2019, the Department of Ecology released guidance for manufacturers explaining the
manufacturers' responsibilities and requirements under the program and how the Department of
Ecology will review and approve stewardship plans (WSDE 2019b). The guidance also states
that stewardship plans must follow the Department of Ecology’s Interim Enforcement Policy for
Conditional Exclusion for Electronic Wastes. The Department of Ecology’s Interim Enforcement
Policy, which is intended to encourage recycling of electronic waste, states that covered
electronic wastes “generated, transported, collected, accumulated and recycled do not have to be
counted as dangerous waste (i.e., hazardous waste) or manifested when transported off-site”
(WSDE 2007). See Table A-1 for more information on Washington's Photovoltaic Module
Stewardship and Takeback Program.
Advantages
Potential advantages associated with Washington’s Stewardship and Takeback Program:
• Requires environmentally sustainable EoL PV module management, which complements
Washington’s goal of reaching 100% GHG-free electricity by 2045
• Incentivizes recycling over disposal by clarifying that PV modules destined for recycling,
which follow the Department’s Interim Enforcement Policy, are not subject to stringent
dangerous waste requirements, which still apply to PV modules destined for disposal
• Reduces the cost and uncertainty regarding permitting and liability associated with
classifying PV modules as dangerous waste (i.e., hazardous waste)
• Requires recycling PV modules, which could lead to job creation and new and expanded
market opportunities
• Provides a reuse option for compliance, which could lead to job creation and encourage
secondary solar market opportunities
• Creates a revenue stream to fund the Department’s program costs
• Creates a free, accessible Takeback Program for consumers and requires dissemination of
information and education about the takeback program (Christine Haun, Washington
Department of Ecology, telephone conference, May 10, 2019; PSI 2018; 2019 Wash. Sess.
Laws 1608; Governor Jay Inslee 2019).
Challenges
Potential challenges associated with Washington’s Stewardship and Takeback Program:
• May disproportionately impact manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or installers, which
could ultimately discourage the sale of PV modules in Washington because no other U.S.
jurisdiction has a similar requirement
• Does not apply to PV modules sold in the state prior to 2017 or account for orphaned PV
modules that were manufactured by companies no longer in business, which will exempt
many EoL PV modules from the recycling requirements
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This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
• Access to recycling programs may not be practical for smaller PV modules (e.g., solar
walkway lighting) (EPA 2019a; PSI 2018).
3.2 North Carolina’s Commission to Study and Adopt Regulations to
Govern the Management of PV Modules
On July 19, 2019, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 329 to study and
consider the adoption of regulations to govern the management of EoL PV modules used in
utility-scale projects (2019 N.C. Sess. Law 2019-132).
22
The law tasked the Department of
Environmental Quality, which includes the Environmental Management Commission with
considering:
• Whether PV modules are properly characterized as solid waste under state and federal law
• Whether PV modules exhibit characteristics of hazardous solid waste
• Preferred EoL PV module and associated equipment management methods and economic
and environmental costs and benefits associated with each method
• The expected economically productive life cycle of different types of PV modules
• The volume of PV modules deployed in the state and the projected deployment in the
future and the impact that volume would have on state landfills if landfill disposal were
permitted
• A survey of federal, state, and international regulatory requirements related to EoL PV
module and associated equipment management, decommissioning, and financial
assurances
• The necessity of financial assurance requirements for PV system decommissioning
• Necessary infrastructure to collect and transport EoL PV modules for reuse,
refurbishment, recycling or disposal
• Whether stewardship programs for recycling EoL PV modules should be established for
applications other than utility-scale solar project installations, and if so, fees that should be
established for manufacturers to sell PV modules into the state. (2019 N.C. Sess. Law
2019-132).
The Department of Environmental Quality established a stakeholder working group and
submitted quarterly joint interim reports on their activities and progress to the General Assembly
beginning December 2019 and submitted a final report January 1, 2021. (2019 N.C. Sess. Law
2019-132). The final report included the Department of Environmental Quality’s findings and
recommendations, as well as a detailed summary of the research and data to support the findings
(NCDEQ 2021). In the final report, the Environmental Management Commission:
• Estimated that North Carolina has more than 4,000 MW of installed solar capacity and
that figure is expected to double in the next five years
• Estimated that 8.5 million PV modules will be decommissioned between 2036 and 2040
22
“Utility-scale solar project” means a ground-mounted PV, concentrating PV, or concentrating solar power project
directly connected to the electrical grid that generates electricity for sale. The term includes the solar arrays,
accessory buildings, transmission facilities, and any other infrastructure necessary for the operation of the project.
The term does not include renewable energy facilities owned or leased by a retail electric customer intended
primarily for the customer’s own use to offset the customer’s own retail electricity consumption at the premises”
(2019 N.C. Sess. Law 2019-132).
27
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• Found that the recycling capacity for solar PV modules is still in development and noted
that in the future, sufficient infrastructure to support transportation and recycling of EoL
PV modules will need to be developed
• Established the following order of preference for management of retired and EoL PV
modules: 1) direct reuse, 2) refurbishment/repair for reuse, 3) recycling if reuse and repair
for reuse are not feasible, and 4) disposal
• Determined that EoL PV modules that no longer serve the purpose for which they are
intended are solid waste
• Determined that PV modules that exhibit hazardous characteristics under the TCLP test
must be managed as hazardous waste, but nonhazardous PV modules may be managed as
solid waste
• Requested the development of a sample preparation procedure for TCLP testing of PV
modules for representative and accurate waste characterization due to inconsistency and
variability concerns associated with TCLP testing results
• Stated that the Department of Environmental Quality, in consultation with the EPA,
anticipates a future rulemaking proceeding to define EoL PV modules as universal waste
in 2021. The Commission noted that the purpose of PV universal waste regulations is to
facilitate recycling, provide regulatory clarify, and eliminate the need to conduct TCLP
testing on EoL PV modules
• Found that the establishment of a fee system paid for by manufacturers to support a
stewardship program may create a disincentive for recycling, especially given the lack of
accessible recycling facilities
• A network of collection and consolidation points for EoL utility-scale PV modules would
not be needed; instead, utility-scale PV system owners are advised to anticipate and
evaluate collection and transportation costs during the facility’s decommissioning
planning (NCDEQ 2021).
Advantages
Potential advantages associated with North Carolina’s Commission Study:
• Studied EoL PV management options, such as recycling, as well as associated barriers, to
inform the development of new regulations
• Established an order of preference for the management of EoL PV modules, which
emphasizes the benefits of recycling
• Estimated the volume of future deployment of PV modules and associated
decommissioning levels to inform market conditions, private and public investment
decision, and infrastructure needs necessary to support recycling
• Emphasized the need for future investment in infrastructure to support recycling of EoL
PV modules
• Determined when decommissioned EoL PV modules constitute solid or hazardous waste,
which may reduce regulatory uncertainty as well as liability concerns associated with
management
• Development of a TCLP sampling procedure may create standardized results, which may
increase the validity of test results
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This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
• Development of PV universal waste regulations may reduce some of the costs and
liabilities associated with collecting, storing, and transporting decommissioned hazardous
PV modules (as compared to fully-regulated hazardous waste) and may deter the
abandonment of PV modules (Way 2019; NCDEQ 2021).
Challenges
Potential challenges associated with North Carolina’s Commission Study:
• Does not mandate the adoption of rules and regulations, which makes it unclear whether
the Commission’s final report will have any bearing on the development of EoL PV
management options
• Does not recommend immediate investment in infrastructure to support cost effective and
efficient recycling options for EoL PV modules
• Does not address modules from rooftop or residential PV systems
• Anticipates the development of universal waste regulations, which often treat recycling
and disposal in the same manner and therefore may not provide an incentive for recycling
EoL PV modules under current market conditions (Way 2019; NCDEQ 2021).
3.3 New Jersey’s Commission to Investigate Options for EoL PV
Recycling
On August 9, 2019, the New Jersey state legislature passed Senate Bill 601, which created the
New Jersey Solar Panel Recycling Commission (2019 N.J. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 215 [West];
Governor Phil Murphy 2019). The Commission is tasked with investigating options for recycling
and other EoL management methods for PV and other solar energy generation structures. The
Commission is also tasked with developing recommendations for legislative, administrative, or
private sector action (2019 N.J. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 215 [West]). The Commission consists of
nine voting members:
• The Commissioner of Environmental Protection (or their designee)
• The Commissioner of Community Affairs (or their designee)
• Two Governor-appointed members of New Jersey’s business community with experience
or expertise in Class D recycling
23
and the disposal of consumer electronics
• One Governor-appointed representative of a non-profit organization that promotes
recycling in New Jersey
• Two Governor-appointed members who work in the solar power industry
• Two Governor-appointed academic community members with expertise in recycling
(2019 N.J. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 215 [West]).
23
Class D recyclables include used oil, batteries, thermostats, lamps, oil-based finishes, mercury-containing devices,
consumer electronics, latex paints, and antifreeze (N.J. Admin. Code § 7:26A-1.3 [2017]).
29
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
The Commission can use the services of any state, county, or municipal employee to investigate
options for EoL PV recycling and management (2019 N.J. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 215 [West]). The
Commission must submit findings of its investigation and recommendations as a final report to
the Governor and post it on the Department of Environmental Protection’s website no later than
August 2021 (2019 N.J. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 215 [West]). The bill also authorizes the
Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules and regulations regarding EoL PV
module recycling or management options based on the Commission’s final report (2019 N.J.
Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 215 [West]).
Advantages
Potential advantages associated with New Jersey’s Commission to investigate options for PV
module recycling:
• Requires analysis of EoL PV module management options, such as recycling, as well as
associated barriers, which may inform the development of new regulations
• May engender the development of infrastructure necessary to support recycling, leading to
secondary market opportunities and job creation
• Addresses barriers to PV recycling, which reflect information gathered through
coordination with a diverse group of stakeholders including state and local entities
• Grants authority to the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules and
regulations based on the Commission’s findings (2019 N.J. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 215
[West]; Salim et al. 2019; Tura et al. 2018; InsiderNJ 2019).
Challenges
Potential challenges associated with New Jersey’s Commission to investigate options for PV
module recycling:
• Does not mandate that the Department of Environmental Protection adopt rules and
regulations concerning recycling or other EoL PV module management options, which
makes it unclear whether the Commission’s final report will have any bearing on the
development of EoL PV management options
• Does not identify a funding source to satisfy the Act’s requirements
• Does not explicitly address whether EoL PV modules destined for recycling and resource
recovery will be classified and regulated as solid waste, which may lead to uncertainty
regarding the applicability of regulations as well as associated costs and potential
liabilities
• No public information can be found on the study’s results or progress (2019 N.J. Sess.
Law Serv. Ch. 215 [West]).
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This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
3.4 California’s Universal Waste Regulations
In September 2020, the DTSC enacted regulation R-2017-04, which allows for discarded PV
modules
24
that exhibit toxicity characteristic of hazardous waste to be managed as universal
waste in California (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 § 66273.7.1). California’s universal waste
regulations include notification, reporting, transportation, storage, and handling requirements
that are less stringent than California’s hazardous waste regulations (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§
66273.1-66273.84). Specifically, DTSC regulations:
• Clarify that PV modules that are refurbished or reused are not waste and not subject to the
universal waste regulations;
• State that a party who is subject to an enforcement action who claims that a PV module is
not waste bears the burden of demonstrating that there is a known market or disposition
for its use as a PV module;
• Clarify that a PV module becomes “waste” on the date it is discarded (PV modules that
are abandoned, relinquished, or recycling are considered waste when they are
disconnected or remove from service (DTSC n.d.);
• Establish universal waste requirements for universal waste handlers
25
(e.g., asset owners,
installers, manufacturers, distributors/warehouses, storage facilities, recyclers, treatment
facilities) and universal transporters
26
that generate, accumulate, treat, transport or dispose
of PV modules that exhibit toxicity characteristics of hazardous waste; and
• Specify the management standards for different levels of treatment to ensure treatment is
performed safely by universal waste handlers that do not have a hazardous waste facility
permit that they would otherwise be required to obtain (Cal. Code Regs. § 66273.75).
The DTSC universal waste regulations authorize and require universal waste handlers
25
to:
• Comply with notification, annual reporting, and recordkeeping requirements (e.g., one-
time notification to the DTSC that includes information regarding types of modules
collected, the source of modules, and indication as to whether the handler plans on
collecting more than 5,000 kg – approximately 11,023 pounds – or more of PV modules at
one time) (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 § 66273.32);
• Collect, store, and accumulate PV modules for up to one year before they must be taken to
a destination facility for disposal (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 § 66273.35);
• Dismantle separate components from the PV module (e.g., metal frames) without breaking
PV module glass (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 § 66273.72);
24
The term “PV modules” “includes integrated components that cannot be separated without breaking the module
glass,” which can include “the protective glass, conductive metal contact, metal framing the PV cells,…and the top
and back layer (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 § 66260.10). A PV module is “discarded” or considered waste when it is
abandoned, relinquished, or becomes a recyclable material (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 § 66273.7.1).
25
Under California law, a universal waste handler is defined as (1) “any person, by site, whose act or process
produces [universal waste] or whose act first cases a [universal waste] to become subject to regulation,” (2) “the
owner or operator of a facility, including all contiguous property, that receives universal waste from other universal
waste handlers, accumulates universal waste, and sends universal waste to another universal waste handler, to a
destination facility, or to a foreign destination; or (3) the owner or operator of a facility who is authorized to treat
universal waste” (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66273.9).
26
Under California law, a universal waste transporter is defined as “a person engaged in the offsite transportation of
universal waste by air, rail, highway, or water (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66273.9).
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• Allow universal waste handlers, with separate prior authorization from DTSC, to
intentionally break the PV module’s glass in order to process the module (Cal. Code Regs.
tit. 22 § 66273.32)27;
• Prohibit from disposing of PV modules except for disposal at a universal waste destination
facility,
• Prohibit dilution or treating universal waste except for responding to releases or by
following the requirements in the universal waste regulations (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§
66260.9-.10, 66273.35, 66273.71-.73); and
• Comply with specified labelling requirements (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66260.9-.10,
66273.35, 66273.71-.73).
The DTSC universal waste regulations for PV modules also:
• Restrict universal waste transporters
28
from transporting more than 220 pounds of PV
modules (i.e., approximately 5 PV modules) at once unless the modules’ packaging
conforms to the regulatory requirements to prevent leakage, breakage, or release of any
PV module or its constituent parts (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66273.33.6, 66273.51);
• Prohibits universal waste transporters from storing universal waste PV modules at a
transfer facility for longer than 10 days in industrial zoned areas and for more than 6 days
in other zoned areas (Cal. Code Regs. § 66273.53);
• Prohibits universal waste transporters from transporting universal waste PV modules to a
place other than a universal waste handler, a universal waste destination facility, or a
foreign destination (Cal. Code Regs. § 66273.55); and
Restrict universal waste handlers and universal waste destination facilities who treat
universal waste PV from using chemicals or heat to process PV modules without a
hazardous waste facility permit (restricts to physical/mechanical technologies) (Cal. Code
Regs. § 66273.73; CSSA 2020, presentation by Chosu Khin, DTSC).
Economic Impact Analysis
DTSC’s economic impact statement found that this regulation will affect approximately 3,000
businesses statewide with a fiscal impact of $10–$25 million (DTSC 2019a). State businesses
and individuals are expected to save more than $11 million overall with the regulation (DTSC
2019b). Most of the cost savings come from the reduced fixed annual costs for generators who
no longer have to manage and ship PV modules as hazardous waste (DTSC 2019b). DTSC also
noted that, when electronic waste was added to California’s universal waste program, the
creation of approximately 25 electronic waste treatment facilities followed, and, although DTSC
cannot predict the number of businesses established as a result of this regulation, it found that
stakeholders are interested in expanding their businesses to handle PV modules should they be
classified as universal waste (DTSC 2019b; DTSC 2019c).
27
Universal waste handlers who intentionally break PV modules require authorization from the DTSC (Cal. Code
Regs. tit. 22 § 66273.73 [2020]). However, universal waste handlers who remove replaceable components or
dismantle PV module components without breaking the module do not require authorization from the DTSC to
conduct those activities (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66273.71, 66273.72 [2020]).
28
"Universal waste transporter" means a person engaged in the offsite transportation of universal waste by air, rail,
highway, or water (Cal. Code Regs. § 66273.9).
32
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
Advantages
Potential advantages associated with California’s regulations to include PV modules as a
universal waste category:
• May reduce some of the costs and liabilities associated with collecting, storing, and
transporting discarded hazardous PV modules (as compared to fully-regulated hazardous
waste)
• May deter the abandonment of PV modules, which are categorized as hazardous waste
under California law and redirect them to other EoL management options, such as
recycling
• Clarifies regulatory standard for EoL PV modules destined for recycling-based resource
recovery
• Complements the state’s recently enacted goal of 100% clean energy by 2045
• Specifies management standards to safely handle and treat PV modules (CPUC 2019,
DTSC 2019a, Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66273.1-66273.84)
Challenges
Potential challenges associated with California’s regulations to include PV modules as a
universal waste category:
• Does not allow for processing PV modules by heat or chemicals in California, which are
processes commonly used for PV module recycling
• Does not necessarily eliminate the requirement to determine whether the PV module
exhibits toxicity characteristics either by previous knowledge or by California’s toxicity
testing protocol – the Waste Extraction Test (WET)
29
• May create a presumption that all decommissioned PV modules destined for recycling and
resource recovery are not only solid waste, but hazardous waste
• Restricts transport unless transported to another universal handler, an authorized waste
destination facility, or a foreign destination
• May create a presumption that PV facility owners and operators are generators of solid
waste and potentially hazardous waste
• May create a presumption that PV facilities have the potential to be considered a
hazardous waste facility
• Regulates PV modules destined for recycling in the same manner as those being disposed
of
• May result in more disposal of PV modules until the accessibility and economics of
recycling are more favorable (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66273.1-66273.84; NIST 2021;
Finney et al. 2019; NREL 2019, CPUC 2019, DTSC 2019).
29
In some instances, PV modules may pass the EPA toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) to determine
whether a PV module exhibits hazardous characteristics but fail California’s WET procedure designating the PV
module California-only hazardous. Anecdotal evidence suggests that modules that could be regulated as solid waste
– those that do not fail the TCLP but fail California’s WET procedure adds substantial costs and liabilities to handle,
accumulate, store, transport, and treat PV modules in the state of California (NREL 2019, CPUC 2019, DTSC
2019b).
33
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
4 Proposed Legislation (Pending)
This section summarizes proposed, but not yet-enacted U.S. legislation that addresses PV
module recycling. As of February 2021, no proposed federal legislation existed that expressly
speaks to recycling-based recovery of PV modules in the United States, however state policies
have stated to emerge to address EoL PV management concerns. Bills in the legislatures of
California, Hawaii, and Rhode Island address PV module recycling. These proposals are diverse
regulatory frameworks that cover different life cycle activities and actors in the PV value chain.
Figure 4 below identifies proposed legislation and regulation in the United States that address
EoL management options for PV.
Figure 4. Proposed (pending) PV module recycling legislation
4.1 California Senate Bill 207 (introduced January 11, 2021)
California’s Senate Bill 207, if enacted, would require the Secretary for Environmental
Protection to convene the Photovoltaic Recycling Advisory Group to study and recommend
policies to the legislature that will ensure as close as possible to 100% of all PV panels in
California are reused or recycled at end of life safely and cost-effectively (S.B. 207, 2021-2022
Leg., Reg. Sess. [Cal. 2021]). The Secretary for Environmental Protection must appoint the
following members to the group:
• The Director of Resources Recycling and Recovery or their designee
• The Director of Toxic Substance Control or their designee
• A photovoltaic panel or solar energy system manufacturer
• An organization that represents one or more photovoltaic panel manufacturers.
• An electronic waste recycler or an organization that represents one or more electronic
waste recyclers
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This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
• A photovoltaic panel or solar energy system repair dealer or an organization that
represents one or more photovoltaic panel or solar energy system repair dealers
• An environmental organization that specializes in waste reduction and recycling
• A representative of the solar industry
• A standards organization that has a focus on photovoltaic or electrical engineering (S.B.
207, 2021-2022 Leg., Reg. Sess. [Cal. 2021]).
The group must meet for the first time on or before April 1, 2022 (S.B. 207, 2021-2022 Leg.,
Reg. Sess. [Cal. 2021]). The group must develop and submit its policy recommendations on or
before April 1, 2025 (S.B. 207, 2021-2022 Leg., Reg. Sess. [Cal. 2021]). The group must consult
with any relevant entities to inform its recommendations (S.B. 207, 2021-2022 Leg., Reg. Sess.
[Cal. 2021]).
4.2 Hawaii’s House Bill 1333 (introduced January 27, 2021)
Hawaii's House Bill 1333, if enacted, would require the Hawaii State Energy Office to work with
the Department of Health on a comprehensive study to determine best practices for disposing of
and recycling discarded clean energy products, with an emphasis on solar panels and cells (H.B.
1333, 31st Leg., Reg. Sess. [Haw. 2021]). The comprehensive study would have to address:
• "The amount of aging photovoltaic and solar water heater panels in the State that will need
to be disposed or recycled;
• Other types of clean energy materials expected to be discarded in Hawaii in significant
quantities, including glass, frames, wiring, inverters, and batteries;
• The type and chemical composition of those clean energy materials;
• Best practices for collection, disposal, and recycling of those clean energy materials;
• Whether a fee should be charged for disposal or recycling of those clean energy materials;
and
• Any other issues that the Hawaii state energy office and the department of health consider
appropriate for management, recycling, and disposal of those clean energy materials"
(H.B. 1333, 31st Leg., Reg. Sess. [Haw. 2021]).
The Hawaii State Energy Office would be required to submit an interim report on the study's
progress to the legislature at least 20 days before the legislature convenes the regular session of
2022 (H.B. 1333, 31st Leg., Reg. Sess. [Haw. 2021]). The Hawaii State Energy Office would
also be required to submit a final report to the legislature at least 20 days before the legislature
convenes the regular session of 2023 (H.B. 1333, 31st Leg., Reg. Sess. [Haw. 2021]). The final
report must include findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation resulting from the
study (H.B. 1333, 31st Leg., Reg. Sess. [Haw. 2021]). The bill currently has a subsection that
would appropriate money from the general state revenues to support the purposes of the bill, but
the exact amount is yet to be determined (H.B. 1333, 31st Leg., Reg. Sess. [Haw. 2021]). The
bill, if enacted, would go into effect on July 1, 2021 (H.B. 1333, 31st Leg., Reg. Sess. [Haw.
2021]).
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This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
4.3 Rhode Island House Bill 5525 (introduced February 12, 2021)
Rhode Island’s House Bill 5525, if enacted, would create a Photovoltaic Module Stewardship
and Takeback Program requiring PV module manufacturers
30
to finance and implement a
takeback and recycling or reuse stewardship plan for PV modules sold in or into Rhode Island
after July 1, 2021, at no cost to owners (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)). The bill
specifies that the Department of Environmental Management must develop and implement
guidance to aid manufacturers in preparing and implementing self-directed stewardship plans by
July 1, 2022 (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)). Beginning July 1, 2023, no
manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or installer would be able to sell or offer PV modules for sale
within or into Rhode Island unless the manufacturer of the PV module had submitted a
stewardship plan to the Department of Environmental Management and obtained approval H.B.
5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)). PV modules covered by the program would include PV
modules that are:
• “Are installed on, connected to, or integral with buildings;
• Are used as components of freestanding, off-grid, power generation systems, such as for
powering water pumping stations, electric vehicle charging stations, fencing, street and
signage lights, and other commercial or agricultural purposes; or
• Are part of a system connected to the grid or utility service” (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg.
Sess. (R.I. 2021)).
Manufacturers would have to submit a stewardship plan to the Department of Environmental
Management and implement the plan by July 1, 2022 (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I.
2021)). In lieu of developing a plan individually, manufacturers would also have the option to
join a registered stewardship organization and allow that organization to create and implement
the plan on the manufacturer’s behalf (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)).
The stewardship plan must outline how the manufacturer will:
• Finance the takeback program
• Accept all their PV modules sold within or into the state after July 1, 2021
• Minimize the release of hazardous substances and maximize the recovery of other
components
• Provide convenient takeback opportunities in each county of Rhode Island where its
modules are used
• Disseminate applicable information about its program to relevant stakeholders
• Implement performance goals to reuse and/or recycle at least 85% of the PV modules
the manufacturer collects (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)).
30
“'Manufacturer' means any person in business or no longer in business but having a successor in interest who,
irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance or remote sale: (i) manufactures or has
manufactured a PV module under its own brand names for sale in or into this state; (ii) assembles or has assembled a
PV module that uses parts manufactured by others for sale in or into this state under the assembler’s brand names;
(iii) resells or has resold in or into this state under its own brand names a PV module produced by other suppliers,
including retail establishments that sell PV modules under their own brand names; (iv) manufactures or has
manufactured a cobranded PV module product for sale in or into this state that carries the name of both the
manufacturer and a retailer; (v) imports or has imported a PV module in the U.S. that is sold in or into the state; (vi)
sells at retail a PV module acquired from an importer that is the manufacturer; or (vii) elects to assume the
responsibility and register in lieu of a manufacturer” (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. [R.I. 2021]).
36
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After initial approval of the stewardship plans, the manufacturer would have to submit and
publish annual reports about the previous year’s implementation of the manufacturer’s
plan, starting in 2024 (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)). The annual reports would
have to include achievement assessments of the plan’s performance goals and could include
recommendations to the Department of Environmental Management or the Rhode Island
Legislature on potential modifications to improve the effectiveness of the takeback program
(H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)).
The Department of Environmental Management could collect a flat fee from every participating
manufacturer to cover the costs of administering the program and an annual fee from each
manufacturer based on the manufacturer’s pro rata share of the preceding year’s PV module sales
in Rhode Island (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)). The Department of Ecology
could, after issuing a warning of non-compliance, impose a penalty of up to $10,000 per sale of a
PV module in Rhode Island (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)). The Department of
Ecology would have to deposit all fees and penalties into a PV module recycling account that
could only be used to fund the program’s administration costs (H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess.
(R.I. 2021)).
The Department of Environmental Management would also have to develop guidance for
manufacturers that explains how to prepare and implement a stewardship plan.
31
The Department
of Environmental Management would have to establish a process to develop the guidance by
January 1, 2022 and complete the guidance by July 1, 2022.
32
5 Historic Legislative Proposals (Unenacted)
Since 2012, seven states have proposed historic legislation (i.e., failed and was not enacted)
aimed at addressing EoL management options for decommissioned PV modules. These historic
bills would have enacted a range of policies regulating different life cycle activities and actors in
the PV value chain. These historic bills although not enacted provide examples of diverse policy
frameworks that could be used to manage EoL PV modules. Table 5 below provides a summary
of historic EoL PV management legislation since 2012.
Table 5. Summary of Historic (Unenacted) Legislation that Addressed PV Module Recycling
State
Description
Arizona
Senate Bill 1309, introduced in 2017, would have established a renewable energy
technology environmental impact study committee to:
• Collect information on the environmental impacts of production, recycling and
disposal of solar energy panels and electronic waste
• Study the lifespan of solar energy panels and electronic equipment
• Review opportunities to expand solar panel and electronic waste recycling or
reuse in the state
• Collect additional information and make recommendations related to the
environmental impact of the disposal of solar panels and electronic waste and
potential strategies to address the environmental impact of the disposal of solar
panels and electronic waste (S.B. 1309, 53
rd
Leg., 1
st
Reg. Sess. [Ariz. 2017]).
31
H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)
32
H.B. 5525, 2021 Leg., Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2021)
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State
Description
House Bill 2828, introduced in 2020, would have placed EoL management
requirements on any person who sells, leases, or manufacturers PV panels for
residential, commercial, and industrial use (specialty environmental components)
and would prohibit anyone from disposing of PV panels in solid waste landfills in
Arizona (H.B. 2828, 54th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess. [Ariz. 2020]). The bill would require
any person who sells or leases PV panels in Arizona to pay a fee of $5 per panel
sold for residential, commercial, or industrial use to the Department of Revenue to
be deposited into an established Specialty Environmental Component Fund (Fund)
(H.B. 2828, 54th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess. [Ariz. 2020]). The Fund would be used to pay
for recycling orphaned waste and to reimburse approved recycling facilities that
receive specialty environmental components for disposal (H.B. 2828, 54th Leg., 2d
Reg. Sess. [Ariz. 2020]).
Hawaii
Senate Bill 2279, introduced in 2014, would have established a task force in the
Department of Health to study the feasibility of a PV waste recycling program in the
state and to make recommendations on how to address the expected increase in
PV waste in upcoming years (S.B. 2279, 27
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. [Haw. 2014]).
House Bill 2413, introduced in 2020, would have required the Hawaii State Energy
Office to work with the Department of Health on a comprehensive study to
determine best practices for disposing of and recycling discarded clean energy
products, with an emphasis on solar panels and cells (H.B. 2413, H.D. 1, 30th Leg.,
Reg. Sess. [Haw. 2020]).
Maryland
House Bill 1242, introduced in 2018, would have established a solar PV recycling
fee of 10% of the cost of installation collected by the Department of the
Environment. Installers who filed the recycling fee within a certain number of days
after the solar facility was installed would have received a credit of 0.6 percent of
the total solar PV recycling fee paid. The recycling fees would have been exempt
from taxation (H.B. 1242, 2017-2018 Leg., Reg. Sess. [Md. 2018]).
House Bill 125, introduced in 2019, would have established a solar PV recycling
fee of 10% of the cost of installation collected by the Department of the
Environment. The bill would have also established a 20% charge on the first sale
price of each renewable energy credit (REC). The recycling fees would have been
exempt from taxation (H.B. 125, 2019 Leg., 439th Sess. [Md. 2019]).
House Bill 165, introduced in 2020, would have combined the key features of
House Bill 1242 and House Bill 125 (H.B. 165, 2020 Leg., 441st Sess. [Md. 2020]).
Senate Bill 891, introduced in 2020, would have required the Department of the
Environment to establish and adopt guidelines to help solar panel manufacturers
prepare and implement self-directed solar panel stewardship programs to ensure
the safe, convenient, and environmentally sound takeback and recycling of
decommissioned solar panels. The bill also would have required manufacturers to
adopt a Department-approved solar panel stewardship plan to sell solar panels in
Maryland after January 1, 2022. The individual stewardship plans would have had
to, among other things:
• Minimize the release of hazardous substances and maximize recovery of other
valuable materials
• Apply to all solar panels sold in Maryland on or after July 1, 2020
• Establish performance goals for the combined reuse and recycling of collected
out-of-service solar panels (S.B. 891, 2020 Leg., 441st Sess. [Md. 2020]).
Minnesota
House Bill 2909 and Senate Bill 2698, introduced in 2014, would have established
a solar PV module stewardship plan. The companion bills would have required
producers of solar PV modules sold in the state to implement and finance a
38
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State
Description
statewide product stewardship program that manages the solar PV modules by
reducing their waste generation, promoting their recycling and providing for
negotiation and execution of agreements to collect, transport and process the solar
PV modules for EoL recycling. On or after a certain date, no producer, wholesaler
or retailer would have been permitted to sell solar PV modules in the state without
participating in an approved stewardship program. Solar panel producers would
have been required to submit a stewardship plan to the Pollution Control Agency
and receive approval of the plan or submit documentation that demonstrates the
producer has entered into an agreement with a stewardship plan. The bills included
details on the information that a stewardship plan would have been required to
include. The bills would have prohibited the disposal of solar PV modules in mixed
municipal solid waste (H.B. 2909, 88
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. [Minn. 2014]/S.B. 2698, 88
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. [Minn. 2014]).
House Bill 3333, introduced in 2018, was identical to House Bill 2909 and Senate
Bill 2698 (H.B. 3333, 90
th
Leg. Sess., Reg. Sess. [Minn. 2018]).
New York
Senate Bill 7789 and Assembly Bill 10209, introduced in 2016, would have
required PV panel manufacturers to, individually or collectively with other
manufacturers, establish and maintain a program for the collection, transportation,
recycling, disposal and proper management of out-of-service solar panels. The
manufactures would have been prohibited from issuing fees or other charges to
consumers or persons participating in the program. Manufacturers would have been
required to conduct education and outreach efforts, including creating and
maintaining a web-based program that allows contractors and consumers to identify
collection sites for decommissioned solar panels. Manufacturers would have been
required to submit an annual report on their collection program (S.B. 7789, 2015-
2016 Senate, Reg., Sess. [N.Y. 2016]/ A.B. 10209, 2015-2016 Stat Assemb., Reg.
Sess. [N.Y. 2016]).
Assembly Bill 7757 and Senate Bill 2837, introduced in 2017, were similar to
Assembly Bill 10209/Senate Bill 7789 (A.B. 7757, 2017-2018 State Assemb., Reg.
Sess. [N.Y. 2017]/ S.B. 2837, 2017-2018 Senate, Reg. Sess. [N.Y. 2017]).
Senate Bill 942, introduced in 2019, was similar to Assembly Bill 10209/Senate Bill
7789 and Assembly Bill 7757/Senate Bill 2837 (S.B. 942, 2019-2020 State
Assemb., Reg. Sess. [N.Y. 2019]).
North Carolina
Senate Bill 568, introduced in 2019, would have placed EoL management
requirements on utility-scale owners and operators and PV module manufacturers
and would prohibit anyone from disposing of PV modules (or energy storage system
batteries) in landfills. The bill would place decommissioning requirements on the
owner or operator of a utility-scale solar project to restore the land and to either
reuse or recycle a PV module (or an energy system battery) at the EoL. The bill
would also require solar panel manufacturers who sell PV modules in North
Carolina starting January 1, 2021, to implement a stewardship plan to take back,
collect, and recycle or reuse all the PV modules it sells in the state (S.B. 568, 2019-
2020 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. [N.C. 2019]).
Washington
House Bill 2645, introduced in 2020, would have required the convening of a PV
module recovery, reuse, and recycling working group to review and recommend
potential methodologies for EoL PV module management. The working group,
which would have been made up of representatives from various parts of the PV
value chain, would have been required to submit a report to the legislature and the
39
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State
Description
governor that summarized the group’s recommendations (H.B. 2645, 2019-2020
Leg., Reg. Sess. [Wash. 2020]).
33
6 Industry- and State-Led Initiatives
Industry- and state-led initiatives are also starting to emerge in the United States to address EoL
management options for PV systems. Industry stakeholders have made strides to encourage
environmentally sustainable EoL PV module management practices. California, Illinois, and
Minnesota have also formed working groups to research and analyze EoL PV management
options and opportunities in their respective states to inform policy solutions that may drive and
enable environmentally sustainable EoL management decisions and behaviors.
6.1 Industry-Led Initiatives
There are global and national voluntary industry standards that may encourage environmentally
sustainable EoL management decisions for PV, including design for recycle as well as recycling
and resource recovery of EoL PV modules (Tura et al. 2018; Bai et al. 2015; Dong et al. 2016).
SEIA has also developed a national program to encourage PV recycling among its membership
in the United States.
6.1.1 SEIA National PV Recycling Program
In 2016, SEIA launched a member-based National PV Recycling Program (PV Recycling
Program) that aggregates the services offered by recycling vendors and PV manufacturers. The
PV Recycling Program establishes a network of cost-effective recyclers that can responsibly
manage EoL PV modules and system components (SEIA 2019a; SEIA 2019b; CPUC 2019).
SEIA’s PV Recycling Working Group identifies preferred recycling partners through an
evaluation process that may include a site visit to ensure practices meet SEIA’s standards (SEIA
2019b). Preferred partners must process EoL PV modules and system components in the United
States (CPUC 2019; Evelyn Butler, Solar Energy Industries Association, telephone conference,
February 8, 2019). The PV Recycling Program lists U.S. firms capable of recycling PV modules,
inverters, and other related equipment (SEIA 2019b).
34
The PV Recycling Program is only
available to members and includes:
• Access to SEIA vetted recycling vendors and service providers
• Single point of contact for recycling vendors
• Exclusive pricing regardless of size and volume for members
• Minimum quantities normally aggregated at the waste generator level are aggregated at a
total member-level for program recycling vendors
• Engagement in recycling process improvement as EoL PV system volume increases and
as recycling vendor network grows
• Access to data on industry-level recycling (SEIA 2019b).
33
Only Section 2 of this bill, which was the section that would have created the working group, was vetoed by the
Governor (Governor Jay Inslee 2020).
34
SEIA’s National PV Recycling Program partners include: Cascade Eco Minerals, Echo Environmental, First
Solar, and Green Century Recycling.
40
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While the above benefits are available only to members, the services of SEIA’s recycling
partners are available to anyone (Evelyn Butler, Solar Energy Industries Association, email,
September 4, 2019).
6.1.2 Selected Voluntary Industry Standards
The absence of federal and state regulations mandating PV recycling, landfill diversion, or best
management practices has resulted in the development of global and national voluntary industry
standards that may enable environmentally sustainable EoL PV management decisions and
behaviors. These standards provide guidelines for solar industry stakeholders to follow that
promote PV recycling in the United States. In addition, other industry standards that are not
specific to PV that may also enable recycling and resource recovery efforts of EoL PV modules.
These industry standards are often designed through a consensus-based multi-stakeholder
process and focus on environmentally sustainable business practices. Table 6 below provides a
summary comparison of the selected industry standards discussed in this section.
Table 6. Comparison of Selected Voluntary Industry Standards
Name
Primary User
Information
Source(s)
Take Back
Required?
Minimum
Mass
Recovery
Rate (%)
Disclosure of
Disposal &
Recycling
Volumes or
Material?
Silicon Valley Toxics
Coalition (SVTC) Solar
Scorecard
Manufacturer,
Purchaser,
Owner
Self-Reported Yes No Yes
ANSI/NSF 457
Sustainability Leadership
Standard for PV Modules
Manufacturer,
Purchaser,
Owner
Self-Reported
& Audited
Yes No Yes
ISO 14001 Environmental
Management Systems
Standard
Manufacturer,
Owner, Recycler,
Audited N/A N/A N/A
SERI Responsible
Recycling (R2) Standard
Owner, Recycler Audited No No Yes
Recycling Industry
Operating Standard
(RIOS)
Owner, Recycler Audited No No Yes
R2/RIOS
Owner, Recycler
Audited
No
No
Yes
Ethical Reuse, Recycling
and Disposition of
Electronic Equipment and
Information Technology
(e-Stewards)
Owner, Recycler Audited No
Yes, for
mercury
recovery by
end
processors
Yes
PV-Specific Voluntary Industry Standards
This section provides an overview of selected existing international and national voluntary
standards that are directly applicable to the solar industry. These programs were chosen to reflect
a range of styles and requirements for voluntary industry standards, and do not encompass all
existing programs or those in development.
41
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Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition Solar Scorecard
In 2010, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) developed the Solar Scorecard (SVTC
2021a). The purpose of the Solar Scorecard is to promote transparent environmental and social
justice practices in the solar industry. The Solar Scorecard is based on a set of survey questions
provided to PV manufacturers who may voluntarily provide information about their business
practices to SVTC for inclusion in the annually published Solar Scorecard. Twenty-nine PV
manufacturing companies have voluntarily provided information to SVTC at least once in the
last 6 years for inclusion in the Solar Scorecard (SVTC 2021b). The categories, metrics and
scoring criteria have evolved over time to become more detailed and rigorous as new scientific
and engineering advances have been made (Wade et al. 2018). Thus, it is not possible to directly
compare responses over time. Several categories of the Solar Scorecard address EoL PV
management practices, including:
• EPR requirements to take back and ensure EoL PV modules are recycled
• Green design and use of recycled materials in PV module manufacturing
• Compliance with ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems Standard
• Report requirements regarding associated landfill waste
• Analysis of EoL disposal and recycling processes (SVTC 2021b).
Residential or institutional purchasers, investors, installers, and other entities may use the Solar
Scorecard to identify PV manufacturers that follow environmental and social responsibility
practices.
NSF/ANSI 457 Sustainability Leadership Standard for PV Modules and Inverters
In 2017, the Green Electronics Council (GEC) and NSF International facilitated the development
of the NSF/ANSI 457 Sustainability Leadership Standard for PV Modules and Inverters (NSF
International 2019). The purpose of the standard is to establish sustainable performance criteria
and corporate performance metrics that exemplify sustainable leadership in the solar market. The
standard provides a framework and a set of performance objectives for PV manufacturers for the
design and manufacturing of PV modules and inverters . PV manufacturers may obtain an
NSF/ANSI 457 certification through an audit process to demonstrate compliance with both
product sustainability and corporate performance criteria (ANSI 2020). Table 7 identifies the
seven performance categories for NSF/ANSI 457 certification through which ratings of gold,
silver, and bronze may be achieved.
In 2019, the NSF/ANSI 457 standard was listed on the Electronic Product Environmental
Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registry. EPEAT is an online eco-label tool created by GEC with a
grant funded by the EPA (EPA 2019b). It is intended to help purchasers evaluate, compare and
select electronic products based on their environmental attributes (e.g., toxicity of materials,
recyclability) (EPA 2019b). Federal U.S. regulations mandate federal agencies’ use of EPEAT
by requiring them to “ensure at least 80 percent of their personnel’s electronic devices are
EPEAT registered” (Exec. Order No. 13834, 83 Fed. Reg. 23771 [2018], Efficient Federal
Operations; 48 C.F.R. §§ 23.700-.705 [2001]). In addition, a number of corporations have also
made EPEAT procurement commitments. Listing PV modules in the EPEAT registry could
facilitate the inclusion of environmental performance criteria in future PV module purchase
42
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orders, streamline the implementation of standardized sustainability criteria, and serve as a
template for a national eco-label for PV modules (Wade 2018).
Table 7. NSF/ANSI 457 Sustainability Leadership Standard Requirements
Performance Category
Description
Management of substances
Listing of declarable substances; Avoidance or reduction of high global
warming potential emissions; Reduction of substances of concern
Preferable materials use
Recycled content declaration
Life cycle assessment (LCA)
Conduct PV module life cycle assessment
Energy efficiency & water
use
Efficiency and tare loss reporting; Water inventory
EoL management & design
for recycling
Product take back and processing
Product packaging
Eliminate substances of concern; Recyclability of packaging
Corporate responsibility
Environmental management systems; Conformance to occupational
health and safety performance; Corporate reporting and commitment to
performance; Conflict mineral disclosure
Source: NSF International 2019
Other Voluntary Industry Standards
This section provides an overview of selected existing international and national voluntary
industry standards that could apply to the solar industry.
ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems Standard
In 2015, the ISO revised the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Standard to
include sustainable resource use, climate mitigation, and lifecycle EoL considerations (ISO
2015). The purpose of the international standard is to enhance an organization’s environmental
performance by establishing a systematic framework for the organization to achieve
environmentally sustainable objectives and to demonstrate compliance with environmental,
health, and safety (EH&S) regulatory requirements (ISO 2015). The standard provides a strategic
set of criteria for an organization to develop an effective EMS to identify, manage, monitor and
control environmental concerns related to their organization (ISO 2015).
Organizations (e.g., PV module manufacturers, installers, and O&M entities) may obtain an ISO
14001 certification from a third-party certifier that audits the organization’s business practices
against the requirements of the standard (ISO 2015). The requirements are categorized into a set
of clauses that provide guidance for organizations to achieve an effective EMS (ISO 2015).
Table 8 below identifies ISO 14001’s substantive clauses.
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Table 8. ISO 14001 Standard Requirements
Clause
Description
Context of the organization
Provides general requirements and guidance on developing the scope
of an EMS including the importance of understanding an
organization’s needs and expectations of interested parties
Leadership
Provides requirements focused on establishing environmental policies
and guidance on how an organization can demonstrate leadership and
commitment to the established policies
Planning
Provides guidance on how to identify and address risks and
opportunities and how to plan actions to achieve environmental
objectives
Support
Provides a set of requirements to ensure an organization has support
systems (e.g., effective means of communication) in place to ensure
the success of the EMS
Operation
Provides operational planning requirements and guidance on how to
prepare and respond to environmental emergences
Performance Evaluation
Provides requirements and guidance on how to monitor, measure,
analyze, and evaluate the EMS
Improvement
Provides requirements and guidance on how to address an
organization’s practices that do not comply with the EMS and how to
implement corrective actions to ensure future compliance
Source: ISO 2015
SERI Responsible Recycling (R2) Standard
In 2020, Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI) revised the Responsible
Recycling (R2) Electronics Recycling Standard to include additional best practices for the EoL
management of electronics. The purpose of the international standard is to encourage
environmentally sustainable electronics recycling practices. SERI is an ANSI-accredited
standards development organization dedicated to aiding the implementation of transparent,
environmentally, and socially responsible business practices (SERI 2020).
Electronics processors and recyclers, some of which have started to accept EoL PV modules,
may obtain an R2 Standard certification through an audit process to demonstrate that the
recycler’s business practices conform to the requirements of the standard (SERI 2020). Table 9
below highlights selected R2 Standard requirements that may be applicable to enabling
environmentally sustainable EoL PV management practices in the United States.
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Table 9. SERI R2 Standard Requirements
Requirement
Description
Hierarchy of responsible
management strategies
Requires electronic recyclers to develop and adhere to a policy for
managing used and EoL electronic equipment based on a reuse and
recycling and recovery hierarchy
Environmental, health, and
safety management system
Requires electronic recyclers to plan and monitor its environmental,
health, and safety practices
Legal requirements
Requires electronic recyclers to comply with all applicable
environmental, health and safety, data security, and transport/export
requirements
Sorting, Categorization and
Processing
Requires electronic recyclers to categorize materials into controlled or
uncontrolled streams; identify devices and components that can be
reused; test repair and refurbish, and adequately package equipment
and components going to reuse, or transfer to qualified downstream
vendor
Tracking throughput
Requires electronic recyclers to maintain business records sufficient to
document the flow of equipment, components, and materials
Focus Materials
Manage, both on-site in through selection of downstream vendors,
focus materials (materials or components specified in the standard as
requiring greater care) in a manner protective of worker, public and
environmental health and safety
Source: SERI 2020
However, note that the R2 Standard does not specifically apply at this time to recycling PV
modules. SERI has created a PV Panel Recycling Working Group comprised of experts from the
reuse and recycling vendor, manufacturer, customer, scientific expert and public interest
representative communities that has been meeting since fall of 2020. The group is tasked with
reviewing the current R2v3 requirements and recommending to the R2 Consensus Body if PV
modules would appropriately fit under the existing metrics and framework as designed for
traditional electronics, or if their inclusion would require new PV-specific metrics to be
reasonably applicable. This recommendation will occur in spring of 2021.
Subsequently, the Consensus Body, the entity which develops revisions through an ANSI
approved process and recommends R2 Standard changes to the SERI Board, will decide whether
to recommend changing the R2 Standard to include PV panels. If revisions are determined to be
appropriate, a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), with additional PV industry
representatives added, will assist the Consensus Body in drafting proposed language revisions to
the R2 Standard. Through an ANSI-approved process, the proposed revisions will be released for
public comment, responded to by the TAC, and considered a final time by the Consensus Body
who will vote on sending the revision to the SERI board for a vote.
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Recycling Industry Operating Standards (RIOS)
In 2002, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) facilitated the development of the
global Recycling Industry Operating Standard, which was most recently updated in 2016 (RIOS
2021a). The purpose of the standard is to provide a systematic framework for recyclers to
achieve measurable environmentally sustainable performance objectives and to demonstrate
compliance with EH&S requirements. RIOS is accredited by ANSI and integrates ISO 90001
(quality), ISO 14001 (environment), and OHSAS 18001 (health and safety) standard
requirements into a single streamlined management system to foster healthy, safe, and
sustainable recycling practices (RIOS 2021b).
R2/RIOS
In 2009, ISRI and SERI collaborated to release a combined R2/RIOS Standard for electronic
recyclers (ISRI 2011; RIOS 2021a) to simplify the process for those companies desiring both
certifications. The R2/RIOS Standard combines key provisions of the R2 Standard with the
framework of the RIOS Standard to ensure electronic recycling facilities adhere to safe and
sustainable recycling practices. Electronic recyclers, some of which have started to accept EoL
PV modules, may obtain an R2/RIOS Standard certification, and are designated a Certified
Electronics Recycler, through an audit process to demonstrate that their business practices
conform to the requirements of the standard (RIOS 2021a).
e-Stewards Standard for Ethical Reuse, Recycling and Disposition of Electronic Equipment
and Information Technology(e-Stewards)
In 2009, the Basel Action Network (BAN) developed the first version of what was updated in
2020 and now called the e-Stewards Standard for Ethical Reuse, Recycling and Disposition of
Electronic Equipment and Information Technology Standard v4, or e-Stewards (e-Stewards
2021a). The purpose of the international standard is to encourage environmentally responsible
electronics recycling and reuse practices. The standard incorporates the ISO 14001 Standard
requirements and tailors those requirements for electronics recycling and resource recovery
entities (e-Stewards 2021a).
Electronic recyclers, electronic refurbishing organizations, asset managers, and material recovery
operations may obtain an e-Stewards certification through an audit process to demonstrate that
the organization’s business practices conform to the requirements of the standard (e-Stewards
2021a). In addition to annual audits, participants are subject to the Performance Verification
Program, which includes additional requirements such as unannounced site inspections and GPS
tracking of e-waste to verify downstream commitments are upheld (e-Stewards 2021b). The
requirements of the standard focus on compliance with international waste trade requirements,
such as the Basel Convention
35
and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) treaties, EH&S management system norms, and OH&S best practices (e-Stewards
2021).
35
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal was
adopted in 1989 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland (Basel Convention 2019). The Basel
Convention establishes standards and restrictions on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste and solid
waste (EPA 2019c). Although the United States is not a party to the Basel Convention, U.S. importers and exporters
must comply with the convention’s requirements to trade covered waste with party countries (EPA 2019c; Lia
Yohannes and Kathy Lett, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, teleconference, April 10, 2019).
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In addition, e-Stewards provides the opportunity for companies, governments and institutions to
become Enterprise members. This membership states the participant commits to make best
“commercially reasonable” efforts to use e-Stewards certified recyclers to recycle their
information technology assets and to provide a short annual report on related progress.
6.2 State-Led Initiatives
State-led initiatives have also developed in California, Illinois, and Minnesota to address EoL PV
management concerns.
California
In 2018, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and CalRecycle signed a memorandum
of understanding to cooperate on the development of consistent regulation of EoL PV modules,
electric vehicle batteries, and energy storage batteries in response to state policy changes (CPUC
and CalRecycle 2019). California lawmakers passed Senate Bill 100 in 2018, establishing a
target for 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2045 (S.B. 100, 2017-2018 Senate, Reg. Sess. (Cal.
2018)).
36
In addition, California amended the state’s building energy code to require PV on all
new single-family homes and multi-family buildings that are no more than three stories tall
beginning in 2020 (CPUC 2019). As a result of policy changes, in 2019, CPUC, CalRecycle,
California Energy Commission, and the California Air Resources Board formed a working group
to develop approaches to address EoL management of PV equipment and electric vehicle
batteries in the state. As of January 2021, the California Energy Commission and the California
Air Resources Board were also planning to sign onto the 2018 CPUC and CalRecycle
memorandum (Paulina Kolic, CalRecycle, email, September 6, 2019; Teresa Bui, CalRecycle,
email, January 8, 2021).
Illinois
The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), at the University of Illinois, launched a
Solar Panel Recycling Initiative in 2017 in response to the Illinois Future Jobs Act of 2016 and
the growing projections of decommissioned PV in the state. The Illinois Future Jobs Act requires
the state to increase installed PV capacity to approximately 2,700 MW by 2030—up from 87
MW in 2018 (Holm and Martin 2018). As part of the Solar Panel Recycling Initiative, ISTC in
conjunction with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, formed a PV EoL management
stakeholder working group. The working group includes a diverse set of stakeholders that hopes
to identify barriers to PV module recycling and to develop policy, technical, and economic
solutions that may enable environmentally sustainable EoL PV management decisions and the
recovery of valuable resources in Illinois (ISTC 2019).
Minnesota
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Minnesota Department of Commerce, and
Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association also formed a solar panel strategy working
36
The law also requires the California Air Resources Board, charged with regulating emissions standards from
vehicles, to plan for 100% of total retail sales of electricity in California to come from renewable energy resources
and zero-carbon resources by 2045 (CPUC 2019).
47
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group
37
in the summer of 2019.
38
The working group was formed in response to the steady
growth of installed PV capacity in Minnesota, in addition to projections of near-term EoL PV
(Minnesota Department of Commerce 2019; Minnesota Solar Panel Recycling Strategy Working
Group 2019). One projection found that cumulative EoL PV modules could total 6-8.5 million in
Minnesota by 2050 (MPCA Forthcoming). As a result, the working group hopes to assist in
development of environmentally sustainable policy, financial, and technical EoL management
options for PV equipment in Minnesota.
7 Conclusion
The projected volume of decommissioned PV modules in the United States presents not only
EoL management concerns, but also material recovery and secondary market opportunities. PV
recycling and resource recovery efforts can reduce negative environmental impacts associated
with the life cycle of a PV module, reduce resource constraints, and present opportunities for
new and expanded markets and job creation in the United States. Policy measures and industry
standards can enable actors along the PV value chain to take proactive and collaborative action
to implement environmentally sustainable EoL PV management decisions.
Publicly available research and analysis regarding the value and volume of recovered materials
from EoL PV modules as well as PV recycling infrastructure and technology needs could help
inform policy to drive environmentally sustainable EoL management decisions and behaviors.
Understanding the costs, liabilities, and current market conditions associated with PV recycling
and resource recovery can also reduce investor risk and uncertainty directly, which may help to
enable secondary solar markets in the United States. A multi-faceted regulatory approach that
places the management and financial responsibility on multiple value chain actors may also help
enable an EoL PV management strategy that does not overburden one actor. A regulatory
framework that is complemented by industry standards, takes into consideration current law and,
where possible, acts in concert with existing policy could also help enable an EoL PV
management strategy and guide secondary solar market opportunities in the United States.
Publicly available analyses of the advantages and challenges of early-stage policies, once they
are implemented, can inform subsequent policy development. Clearly defined federal and state
regulation can mandate and/or incentivize PV recycling and resource recovery, while changes to
the current regulatory scheme for the management of solid waste could also reduce the barriers
associated with the handling, transport, accumulation, storage, and treatment of PV modules
destined for recycling and resource recovery.
37
The working group includes state agencies, manufacturers, recyclers, and national and state trade associations,
among others (Minnesota Solar Panel Recycling Strategy Working Group 2019).
38
In 2017, the MPCA Commissioner’s Office initially gave the MPCA permission to work with the Minnesota
Public Utilities Commission and the Minnesota Department of Commerce to research and present policy options to
handle the incoming stream of PV waste, which eventually led to the current working group (MPCA 2018; Amanda
Cotton, MPCA, email, August 15, 2019).
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Global Dynamics.” American Bar Association Section of the Environment, Energy and
Resources. 48
th
Spring Conference. March 27-29, 2019. Denver, Colorado.
Way, Dan. “Solar panel cleanup regs scrapped in Senate bill.” Carolina Journal. June 21, 2019.
https://www.carolinajournal.com/news-article/solar-panel-cleanup-regs-scrapped-in-senate-bill/.
Weckend, Stephanie, Andreas Wade, and Garvin Heath. 2016. “End-of-Life Management: Solar
Photovoltaic Panels.” International Renewable Energy Agency and International Energy Agency
Photovoltaic Power Systems. IEA-PVPS Report Number T12-06:2016. http://iea-pvps.org/file
admin/dam/public/report/technical/IRENA_IEAPVPS_End-of-Life_Solar_PV_Panels_2016.pdf.
WSDE (Washington State Department of Ecology). Conditional Exclusion for Electronic
Wastes. 2007. https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/0204017.pdf.
______. 2019a. “Draft Manufacturer Plan Guidance for the Photovoltaic Module Stewardship
Program.” February 2019. https://ecology.wa.gov/DOE/files/a2/a2993552-34be-4a66-bd97-
f5ec636ed4ae.pdf.
______. 2019b. “Final Manufacturer Plan Guidance for the Photovoltaic Module Stewardship
Program.” July 2019. https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1907014.pdf.
WVDEP (West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection). "Covered Electronic Devices
Again Being Accepted at West Virginia Landfills." May 2016. https://dep.wv.gov/news/Pages/
Covered-Electronic-Devices-Again-Being-Accepted-at-West-Virginia-Landfills.aspx.
Xu, Yan, Jinhui Li, and Quanyin Tan. “Global Status of Recycling Waste Solar Panels: A
Review.” Waste Management 75 (February 2018): 450-58. https://www.researchgate.net/
publication/323269505_Global_status_of_recycling_waste_solar_panels_A_review.
56
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
Executive Orders
Exec. Order No. 13834, 83 Fed. Reg. 23771 (2018), Efficient Federal Operations.
Federal and State Statutes
42 U.S.C. §§ 6901-6992k (1976), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Ark. Code § 25-34-111 (2010), Computer and Electronic Equipment Landfill Ban.
Cal. Health and Safety Code § 25259 (2015), Photovoltaic Modules.
Cal. Public Resources Code §§ 42460 to 42486 (2003), Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003.
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-17-301 to 25-17-308 (2012), Electronic Recycling Jobs Act.
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 22a-629 to 22a-640 (2007), Covered Electronic Devices.
D.C. Code §§ 8-1041.01 to 8-1041.12 (2014), Extended Manufacturer Responsibility for
Electronic Waste.
Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 339d-1 to 339d-27 (2008), Electronic Waste and Television Recycling and
Recovery Act.
Ill. Comp. Stat. ch. 415, §§ 150/1 to 150/999 (2008), Electronic Product Recycling and Reuse
Act.
Ind. Code §§ 13-20.5-1-1 to 13-20.5-10-2 (2009), Electronic Waste.
Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 38, §§ 1610, 1661, 1663 (2004), Sale of Consumer Products Affecting
the Environment, and Mercury-Added Products and Services.
Md. Environment Code Ann. §§ 9-1727 to 9-1730 (2005), Statewide Electronics Recycling
Program.
Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 324.17301 to 324.17333 (2008), Electronics.
Minn. Stat. §§ 115a.1310 to 115a.1330 (2007), Waste Management Act (Video Displays and
Electronic Devices; Collection and Recycling).
Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 260.1050 to 260.1101 (2008), Manufacturer Responsibility and Consumer
Convenience Equipment Collection and Recovery Act.
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 149-M:27 (2007), Solid Waste Management.
N.J. Rev. Stat. §§ 13:1E-99.94 to 13:1E-99.114 (2008), Electronic Waste Management Act.
N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law §§ 27-2601 to 27-2621 (2010), Electronic Equipment
Recycling and Reuse.
57
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 130A-309.130 to 130A-309.1421, 130A-309.10(f) (201507), Discarded
Computer Equipment and Television Management.
Okla. Stat. tit. 27A, §§ 2-11-601 to 2-11-611 (2008), Oklahoma Computer Equipment Recovery
Act.
Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 459.247, 459Aa.300 to 459Aa.365 (2007), Electronic Devices.
Pa. Cons. Stat. tit. 35, §§ 6031.101 to 6031.702 (2010), Covered Device Recycling Act.
R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 23-24.10-1 to 23-24.10-17 (2008), Electronic Waste Prevention, Reuse and
Recycling Act.
S.C. Code §§ 48-60-05 to 48-60-170 (2010), South Carolina Manufacturer Responsibility and
Consumer Convenience Information Technology Equipment Collection and Recovery Act.
Utah Code Ann. §§ 19-6-1201 to 19-6-1205 (2011), Disposal of Electronic Waste Program.
Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, §§ 6621a, 7551 to 7564 (2010), Collection and Recycling of Electronic
Devices.
Va. Code §§ 10.1-1425.27 to 10.1-1425.38 (2008), Computer Recovery and Recycling Act.
Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §§ 70.95N.010 to 70.95N.902 (2006), Electronic Product Recycling.
Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 70A.510.010 et seq. (2017), Photovoltaic Module Stewardship and
Takeback Program.
W. Va. Code §§ 22-15A-22 to 22-15A-28 (2008), The A. James Manchin Rehabilitation
Environmental Action Plan.
Wis. Stat. §§ 287.07, 287.17 (2009), Solid Waste Reduction, Recovery, and Recycling.
Federal and State Regulations
40 C.F.R. § 246 (1976), Source Separation for Materials Recovery Guidelines.
40 C.F.R. § 261 (1980), Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste.
48 C.F.R. §§ 23.700-705 (2001), Contracting for Environmentally Preferable Products and
Services.
45 Fed. Reg. 33084 (May 19, 1980), Hazardous Waste Management System: Identification and
Listing of Hazardous Waste.
60 Fed. Reg. 25,492 (May 11, 1995), Universal Waste Rule.
Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66350-69600.7, Environmental Health Standards for the Management
of Hazardous Waste (2020).
58
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66273.1-66273.84 (2020), Standards for Universal Waste
Management.
N.J. Admin. Code § 7:26A-1.3 (2017), Recycling Rules, Definitions.
Okla. Admin. Code § 252:515-39-4 (2010), Oklahoma E-Waste Recycling, Annual Fees.
Wash. Admin. Code § 173-900-010 to 173-900-997 (2016), Electronic Products Recycling
Program.
State Session Laws
2019 N.C. Sess. Laws 2019-132.
2019 N.J. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 215.
2019 Wash. Sess. Laws 1608.
State Bills
A.B. 4011, 218th Leg., 2018 Sess. (N.J. 2018).
H.B. 1333, 31st Leg., Reg. Sess. (Haw. 2021).
S.B. 100, 2017-2018 Senate, Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2018).
S.B. 207, 2021-2022 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2021).
S.B. 601, 218th Leg., 2019 Sess. (N.J. 2018).
S.B. 568, 2019-2020 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.C. 2019).
S.B. 5939, 65
th
Leg., 3
rd
Spec. Sess. (Wash.. 2017).
State Historic Bills
A.B. 7757, 2017-2018 State Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.Y. 2017).
A.B. 2414, 217
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.J. 2016).
A.B. 10209, 2015-2016 State Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.Y. 2016).
A.B. 3026, 215
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.J. 2012).
H.B. 125, 2019 Leg., 439th Sess. (Md. 2019).
H.B. 165, 2020 Leg., 441st Sess. (Md. 2020).
H.B. 1242, 2017-2018 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Md. 2018).
H.B. 2645, 2019-2020 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wash. 2020).
59
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
H.B. 2828, 54th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess. (Ariz. 2020).
H.B. 3333, 90
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Minn. 2018).
H.B. 319, 2017 Sess., State Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.C. 2017).
H.B. 1912, 64
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wa. 2016).
H.B. 2346, 64
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wa. 2016).
H.B. 2413, H.D. 1, 30th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Haw. 2020).
H.B. 2909, 88
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Minn. 2014).
H.B. 2413, H.D. 1, 30th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Haw. 2020).
S.B. 568, 2019-2020 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.C. 2019).S.B. 891, 2020 Leg., 441st Sess.
(Md. 2020).
S.B. 942, 2019-2020 State Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.Y. 2019).
S.B. 1309, 53
rd
Leg., 1
st
Reg. Sess. (Ariz. 2017).
S.B. 2837, 2017-2018 Senate, Reg. Sess. (N.Y. 2017).
S.B. 3465, 217
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.J. 2017).
S.B. 5027, 65
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wa. 2017).
S.B. 5499, 65
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wa. 2017).
S.B. 364, 217
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.J. 2016).
S.B. 7789, 2015-2016 Senate, Reg., Sess. (N.Y. 2016).
S.B. 6188, 64
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wa. 2016).
S.B. 2279, 27
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Haw. 2014).
S.B. 2698, 88
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Minn. 2014).
S.B. 1020, 2013-2014 Senate, Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2014).
S.B. 1947, 215
th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.J. 2012).
S.R. 3, 2019-2020 State Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.Y. 2019).
State Legislative Committee Reports
H. 30-140-20, Reg. Sess. (Haw. 2020).
60
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.
Appendix A. Breakdown of Selected Enacted Policy: Requirements
Table A- 1. Washington: Enacted Regulatory Requirements (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010)
Regulated Entity—Threshold
Regulatory Requirement
A manufacturer that sells or offers for sale a
PV module in or into the state or a
stewardship organization designated to act
as an agent on behalf of a manufacturer or
manufacturers (Wash. Rev. Code §
70A.510.010[8]).
Must prepare and submit to the Washington Department of Ecology (Department) stewardship
plan and receive approval by January 1, 2020 or within 30 days of its first sale of a PV module in
the state and implement the approved stewardship plan (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[5]).
Stewardship plans must follow the requirements of Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[5][a] and
the Department’s Stewardship Plan Guidance.
A stewardship organization designated to
act as an agent on behalf of a manufacturer
or manufacturers in operating and
implementing the stewardship program
(Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[4]).
Must provide to the Department a list of the manufacturers and brand names that the
stewardship organization represents within 60 days of its designation by a manufacturer as its
agent (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[4]).
A manufacturer or its designated
stewardship organization (Wash. Rev. Code
§ 70A.510.010[7]).
Must provide to the Department a report for the previous calendar year that documents
implementation of the plan and assesses achievement of the performance goals beginning April
1, 2022 (Wash. Rev. Code § 70A.510.010[7]).
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Table A- 2. California: Enacted Universal Waste Regulations (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22 §§ 66273.1-66273.84)
Regulated Entity—
Threshold
Regulatory Requirement
Universal Waste
Handler
• Must comply with the applicable universal waste regulations found at Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, §§ 66273.30–
.32 and 66273.34–.39
• Must not accumulate waste PV modules for more than one year, and accumulation times must be
documented by including accumulation start dates on labels and maintaining an inventory system
• Must ensure PV module management prevents releases of any constituent of a module to the environment,
including preventing breakage that would cause a release, under reasonably foreseeable conditions
• Must immediately clean up and contain any broken modules and any module constituents using a container
that will prevent a release of module constituents to the environment
• Must label or mark waste modules themselves or the containers holding modules as "Universal Waste-PV
module(s)"
• Must keep detailed records of all shipments of universal waste coming and going from the handler's facility
• Must be authorized by DTSC under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, §66273.70 if they treat universal wastes
• May send PV modules to an authorized universal waste destination facility for disposal
• Must obtain an EPA identification number before accumulating waste in quantities of 5,000 kilograms (11,000
pounds) or more
• Must not dispose of, dilute, or treat universal waste unless the prohibited activity is in response to a release
• Must submit a closure plan, including a cost estimate, to the DTSC and provide notice before closure
• Must follow all notification, annual reporting, and record-keeping requirements listed in Cal. Code Reg. tit. 22,
§ 66273.74, including, but not limited to:
o Written notice to DTSC no later than 30 days before accepting waste PV modules accumulated from an
off-site source
o Annual reporting for accepting more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds of waste from off-site sources
within a year
o Shipment records maintained for at least three years (e.g., bills of lading, invoices, logs, manifests) for
waste PV modules sent off-site and waste PV modules accepted from other handlers.
Universal Waste
Transporter
• Must not transport waste PV modules unless they are transported to another universal handler, an authorized
waste destination facility, or a foreign destination
• Must not transport more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of PV modules unless the modules are contained
as described in Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 66273.33.6(a)(2).
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Appendix B. Breakdown of Selected Recent Historic Policy (Unenacted)
Table B- 1. New York: Historic Legislation (S.B. 942, 2019-2020 State Assemb., Reg. Sess. [N.Y. 2019])
Regulated Entity—Threshold
Regulatory Requirement
Any solar panel manufacturer
that wants to sell, offer to sell,
distribute, or offer to distribute
solar panels in New York
•
Would have had to establish and maintain a program for collection, transportation and recycling of out-of-service
solar panels, either individually or collectively with other solar panel manufacturers, free of charge to consumers
or program participants. The collection program must:
o
Compile a list of solar panel wholesalers in New York by July 1, 2021
o
Establish a system to collect, transport, and recycle out-of-service solar panels from all collection sites
o
Not include any fees or other charges to consumers
o
Conduct educational and outreach efforts as prescribed by the Act by July 1, 2021;
o
Develop and update, as prescribed by the Act, educational and other outreach materials for distribution
to qualified contractors, contractor associations, and consumers by July 1, 2021
o
Provide an opportunity for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to review and offer
feedback and suggestions on the collection program.
•
Would have had to individually or collectively with other solar panel manufacturers submit an annual report, as
prescribed by the Act, on its collection program to the DEC by April 1, 2022
•
Would have had to handle and manage any out-of-service panels that cannot be recycled and have been
determined to be or contain hazardous waste, as defined by regulations by the DEC, consistent with the
requirements for the management and disposal of hazardous waste.
Any solar panel wholesaler or
retailer that wants to sell, offer
to sell, distribute, or offer to
distribute solar panels for final
sale in New York
Would have had to ensure that the solar manufacturer of the solar panel they sell, offer to sell, distribute, or offer to
distribute for final sale in New York has established a program for collection, transportation, and recycling of out-of-
service solar panels in accordance with the Act and the DEC’s regulations.
Any transporter
•
Would have been prohibited from knowingly commingling solar panels with solid waste or recyclable materials
•
Would have been prohibited from knowingly delivering solar panels or knowingly causing such materials to be
delivered to an incinerator, a landfill, a transfer station, or a facility in the state, who the transporter knows or
should know will either commingle such materials with other solid waste or deliver such materials to an
incinerator or a landfill for disposal
Any operator of an incinerator,
landfill, or a transfer station
•
Would have been prohibited from knowingly accepting solar panels for disposal or knowingly commingling
solar panels with other solid waste or cause such materials to be transferred to an incinerator or landfill for
disposal
•
Would have been required to post, in a conspicuous location at the facility, a sign stating that solar panels are
not accepted at the facility
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Any consumer or qualified
contractor who replaces a solar
panel from a building
Would have been required to deliver the solar panel to an appropriate collection site
Any person or contractor who
demolishes a building
Would have been required to ensure all solar panels are removed from the building prior to demolition and must deliver
the solar panels to a collection site
Any department, authority,
instrumentality, or municipal
corporation of the state
administering a program that
involves the removal or
replacement of a solar panels
as a result of any statutory
requirement
Would have been required to inform contractors of their statutory obligations to deliver the solar panels to a collection
site and prohibit the disposal of the solar panel in a solid-waste facility
Any contractor, organization, or
subcontractor of such
organization who contracts with
or receives funding or financing
provided in whole, in part by, or
through any department,
agency, instrumentality, or
political subdivision of the state
for the sale, distribution, service,
removal, collection, and
recycling of solar panels
Would have been required to ensure the collection, transportation, and proper management of out-of-service solar
panels in accordance with the provisions of title 31 of article 27 of the environmental conservation law
64
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Table B- 2. Arizona Historic Legislation (H.B. 2828, 54th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess. [Ariz. 2020]))
Regulated Entity -
Threshold
Regulatory Requirement
Any person who leases, sells solar panels
Would have been required to either:
• Pay a fee of $5 per panel sold or leased for any residential, commercial, or industrial use to the
Department of Revenue; or
• Ensure the manufacturer of the solar panels being sold or leased has an established recycling
program reported to the Department of Environmental Quality annually
Anyone using solar panels for residential,
commercial, or industrial use
Would have been prohibited from disposing of solar panels in solid waste landfills
Solar panel manufacturers
• Would have been required to establish a recycling program for the solar panels it makes that are
sold or leased in Arizona
• Would have been required to submit annual reports on the details and progress of the program,
including a description of the program and the number and types of panels recycled
• Would have been required to pay the fee of $5 per panel if the manufacturer does not have a
recycling program or if they fail to submit annual reports about the program to the Department of
Environmental Quality
65
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Appendix C. Electronic Device EoL Policies
Table C- 1. Summary of Electronic Waste EPR Requirements and Landfill Disposal Policies (as of 2019)
Jurisdiction
Statute Citation
Type
State Program Website
Arkansas
Ark. Code § 25-34-111 (2010).
Grant of authority to enact landfill
ban
39
Electronics Reuse and Recycling
California
Cal. Public Resources Code §§
42460 to 42486 (2003).
EPR (registration-hybrid), landfill ban
Electronic Waste Recycling Act of
2003
Colorado
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-17-301 to 25-
17-308 (2012).
Landfill ban, public education program
Electronics and Computer Waste
Connecticut
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 22a-629 to 22a-
640 (2007).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
Connecticut's Electronics Recycling
Law
District of
Columbia
D.C. Code §§ 8-1041.01 to 8-1041.12
(2014).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
D.C. Electronics Recycling
Hawaii
Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 339d-1 to 339d-27
(2008).
EPR (registration and take back)
Electronic Device and Television
Recycling Law
Illinois
Ill. Comp. Stat. ch. 415, §§ 150/1 to
150/999 (2008).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
Electronic Waste Recycling
Indiana
Ind. Code §§ 13-20.5-1-1 to 13-20.5-
10-2 (2009).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
Electronic Waste
Maine
Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 38, §§ 1610,
1661, 1663 (2004).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
Electronics Recycling
Maryland
Md. Environment Code Ann. §§ 9-
1727 to 9-1730 (2005).
EPR (registration, optional take back
and public education program)
e-Cycling in MD
39
The Arkansas legislature passed a statute in 2010 that gave the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission the authority to pass regulations banning
electronics from state landfills, but the agency has yet to pass such regulations.
66
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Jurisdiction
Statute Citation
Type
State Program Website
Michigan
Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 324.17301 to
324.17333 (2008).
EPR (registration and take back)
Electronic Waste TakeBack Program
Minnesota
Minn. Stat. §§ 115a.1310 to
115a.1330 (2007).
EPR (registration and take back)
Minnesota's Electronic Recycling Act
Missouri
Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 260.1050 to
260.1101 (2008).
EPR (registration and take back)
Electronic Waste
New
Hampshire
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 149-M:27
(2007).
Landfill ban
Managing Waste Electronics
New Jersey
N.J. Rev. Stat. §§ 13:1E-99.94 to
13:1E-99.114 (2008).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
E-Cycle New Jersey
New York
N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law
§§ 27-2601 to 27-2621 (2010).
EPR (registration, take back, and
public education program), landfill ban
E-Waste Recycling
North
Carolina
N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 130A-309.130 to
130A-309.1421, 130A-309.10(f)
(201507).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
North Carolina Electronics
Management Program
Oklahoma
Okla. Stat. tit. 27A, §§ 2-11-601 to 2-
11-611 (2008); Okla. Admin. Code §
252:515-39-4 (2010).
EPR (registration and take back)
E-Waste Information
Oregon
Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 459.247, 459Aa.300
to 459Aa.365 (2007).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
Electronics Waste
Pennsylvania
Pa. Cons. Stat. tit. 35, §§ 6031.101 to
6031.702 (2010).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
Electronic Recycling Management
Program
Rhode Island
R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 23-24.10-1 to 23-
24.10-17 (2008).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
Electronic Waste
South
Carolina
S.C. Code §§ 48-60-05 to 48-60-170
(2010).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
South Carolina's Electronics
Recycling Legislation
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Jurisdiction
Statute Citation
Type
State Program Website
Utah
Utah Code Ann. §§ 19-6-1201 to 19-
6-1205 (2011).
EPR (registration-hybrid)
Recycle Utah
Vermont
Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, §§ 6621a, 7551
to 7564 (2010).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
Vermont e-Cycles
Virginia
Va. Code §§ 10.1-1425.27 to 10.1-
1425.38 (2008).
EPR (registration, take back, and
public education program)
Virginia's Computer Recovery and
Recycling Act
Washington
Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §§
70.95N.010 to 70.95N.902 (2006);
Wash. Admin. Code § 173-900-010 to
173-900-997 (2016).
EPR (registration and take back)
E-Cycle Washington
West Virginia
W. Va. Code §§ 22-15A-22 to 22-
15A-28 (2008).
EPR (registration and take back),
conditional landfill ban
E-Waste West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wis. Stat. §§ 287.07, 287.17 (2009).
EPR (registration and take back),
landfill ban
E-Cycle Wisconsin
Sources: NCSL 2018; ERCC 2019a; ERCC 2019b
