An evaluation of the impact framework for product stewardship on end-of-life solar photovoltaic modules: An environmental lifecycle assessment

The growth of solar photovoltaic (PV) waste in the coming years requires implementation of effective management options. Australia, with one of the highest rates of rooftop solar PV, is still developing policy options to manage these panels when they reach their end-of-life. This study evaluates the environmental impacts of three options for mono and multi crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar panel waste modules. The impact of transport distance from transfer stations to the recycling centre is also assessed. The life cycle assessment revealed that, -1 E+06 kgCO2eq and -2 E+06 kgCO2eq are associated with the mandatory product stewardship scenarios under global warming potential for mono and multi c-Si solar modules, respectively. However, the non-existence of a product stewardship will produce a global warming impact of 1 E+05 kgCO2eq for both modules. The global warming effects revealed that, collecting and recycling most of the multi c-Si panels were not effective (−365.00 kg CO2-eq, −698.40 kg CO2-eq, −1032.00 kg CO2-eq) compared to keeping them away from the landfills and fully recycling (-2 E+06 kg CO2-eq) them. It was also highlighted that, the highest environmental impact regarding the transport distances was the scenario of one recycling centre serving over 107 transfer stations with a global warming potential of 1 E+06 kgCO2eq. This research model serves as the first conceptual and methodological framework for life cycle assessment (LCA) in policy and transport related analysis. Since transport is incredibly significant in PV recycling processes, it is recommended that, to further reduce these impacts, other forms of low-impact modes of transportation should be explored.