https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=70A.510.010

The reuse option for a lower budget is instructive. The informed opinion about the rugged nature of the panels is also pleasing to learn. Are there sources for used solar panels, batteries and inverter one can reach.

Tony – those chemicals are often not used in silicon solar panels. Take a look at the section on how First Solar recycles panels for more info on how cadmium and other chemicals are recycled. Also check out First Solar’s website.
It’s still pretty early in the recycling game that I don’t know how profitable it is.

I have 2 questions:

1. What happens to the toxic materials used in solar panel manufacturing: Cadmium, Mercury, Zinc, Gallium, Indium, Arsenic, Antimony, and Phosphorus. Are these recovered from silicon somehow or more likely burned?
2. What is the economics of the recycler? It has to be profitable to sell the byproducts of the recycled panels. Are they?

I’ve traveled thousands of miles in my solar boat, using “B” panels, with no problem. My friend, John Kimball, of Sun Electronics, in Miami, has repurposed tens of thousands of modules removed from old solar farms and other sources. “Scratch and dent” panels at bargain prices allow people on smaller budgets to provide their own power.

I’d say the best recycling of old PV modules is reuse. Consider that before crushing to reclaim materials.

Jennifer, I reached out to you several times for comments but did not receive a response. Of course, we are very supportive of women here at Solar Power World. I do hope to hear more of your work within solar in the coming years.