The solar boom has a dirty secret. Here’s how to avoid another mountain of waste that can’t be recycled

By Rabia Charef, Senior Research Associate in Circular Economy & Digitalisation, Lancaster University

Solar power has a dark side: panels are still built to be thrown away, and we risk creating a mountain of waste that locks away valuable minerals.

The world already faces up to 250 million tonnes of solar waste by 2050, as panels installed during the solar boom of the 2000s and 2010s reach the end of their service life.

These panels were not designed to be repaired, refurbished, or disassembled. Indeed, current recycling…

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