Sending old solar panels to landfill is an unfair burden on ratepayers who have to foot the bill for Australia’s throw-away culture, says the head of the country’s local government organisation.
Councils are beginning to fear how they will handle the expected 50 millions tonnes of dumped solar panels by 2035 if a stewardship scheme isn’t implemented within the next few years, says Gladstone mayor and Australian Local Government Association president Matt Burnett.
“That volume of panels carries a very real risk of breaking our municipal waste services,” he said at a public hearing on Monday for the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling.
“These costs are not just about [an] unfair burden on ratepayers. Without tight regulation and investment, impacts of waste on local communities sends the message that net zero transition does not prioritise community outcomes.
“We need a coordinated, funded, well-regulated national approach to PV panel decommissioning.”
