U.S. solar recycling faces allegations of landfilling and offshoring

A new report from Sustainable Source Studios (S3) alleges that the majority of decommissioned solar panels in the United States are not being recycled into clean secondary feedstock. Instead, the report claims the industry relies on landfilling, material downcycling, and offshoring. Analysts estimate the U.S. will face one million tons of retired photovoltaic modules by 2030 and ten million tons by 2050.

According to S3, approximately 90% of discarded U.S. panels are sent to landfills due to the low cost compared to legitimate recycling. For the remaining portion, the report alleges a “shred-and-export” pipeline exists where materials are shipped to South Korea via Korea Zinc subsidiaries for smelting rather than being recovered domestically.

Industry leaders have also raised concerns regarding certification standards. Brett Henderson, CEO of Solar Panel Recycling, noted that current R2V3 standards may allow recycling to be outsourced while maintaining certification, which can lead to solar waste being exported overseas rather than processed in-house to ensure clean material recovery.