Zero Landfill Solar Panel Recycling
The cost-effective, truly circular, zero landfill recycling solution for solar panels.
A Better Way to Manage Solar Panel Disposal
Comstock Metals offers a full-service, sustainable, and circular recycling solution for end-of-life solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, serving utilities, O&M groups, solar engineers, consultants, contractors, and municipalities across the contiguous U.S., with emphasis currently in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. Our facility in Silver Springs, NV, is accepting panels today.
We eliminate liability incurred from landfilling panels, boost ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance, and prevent VOC generating contaminants and heavy metals from contaminating soil and groundwater – delivering a truly circular supply chain solution.
Reliability
Predictability
Trust
The Problem
Research shows that as much as 90% of discarded solar panels can wind up in landfills, risking soil and water contamination through VOC emissions and heavy metal leaching. (NREL). Such pollution threatens groundwater quality, posing health & environmental hazards for communities and potential liability for businesses due to hazardous, improper disposal practices.
The Solution
Industry and communities seek a reliable, affordable, and circular end-of-life destination for PV solar panels which completely eliminates potential liabilities and environmental harm from landfilling panels.
That’s Where We Come In
We safely eliminate plastics from PV solar panels and efficiently extract scarce materials for circular reuse within the supply chain. We guarantee 100% recycling of all solar panels and certify 0% goes to landfill. Leveraging our next-generation technology, we recycle at the most competitive rates and eliminate any future liability from landfilling solar panels for your company.
Sustainable and Responsible End-of-Life Solar Panel Recycling
In 2008, the use of solar PV emerged as an economically viable, commercial solution toward greener energy and transportation for industry and for communities. Since then, the number of PV panels deployed in the U.S. has increased exponentially and consistently. Our research indicates there are approximately 230 million cubic feet of deployed solar panels in the United States alone, a number that is expected to double within 5 short years. The growth rate continues to accelerate for installed solar throughout the U.S.
Collective size of all currently deployed solar panels in the US:
230M CUBIC FEET
is equal to:
18-Wheeler Trucks
Manual or mechanical disassembly and landfilling are the status-quo approaches to solar panel disposal today. Regardless of the destination, tipping fees are charged to dispose of panels. Inefficiencies in other methods mean “re-purposed” materials still contain harmful contaminants and heavy metals.
Our facility in Silver Springs, NV directly receives solar PV panel waste for a tipping fee competitive to current disposal methods.
The difference is in our technology-driven solution and our process. We safely eliminate plastic and separate scarce materials at the front end of our process, thus fulfilling our compliant, zero landfill promise. Comstock Metals’ process is the most efficient and truly sustainable solution available today to capture and recover scarce materials for responsible re-use.
Frequently Asked Questions
We accept most sizes and types of panels, including Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, Thin Film, Bifacial, Concentrator (CPV), and Double Glass.
From source to our facility, we prioritize safe, compliant handling and transport. Please palletize and band panels before pickup and send any panel or glass fragments in a gaylord container.
Compared to existing end-of-life manual and mechanical disposal practices, our solution ends the unsafe practice of sending components with VOC contaminants or full panels to landfills – from the point of receipt of decommissioned PV panels at our facility.
- Our process avoids uncertainty of what can happen after typical mechanical disassembly, where materials with plastics are treated or disposed of by third parties or glass can wind up being reused for sandblasting, which only redistributes the harmful material into the environment.
- We eliminate plastics and capture VOC contaminants at the front end of our process, responsibly recovering scarce materials that are a part of original manufacturing, ensuring they do not wind up back in landfills or the environment.
- We are cost-competitive as compared to alternative disposal methods.
With a significant amount of solar PV waste from decommissioned solar panels ending up in landfills, plastic (laminates from solar cells), VOC contaminates, and heavy metals are potent greenhouse gas generating materials and critical threats to human health.
- Comstock Metals provides an EoL solution that safely eliminates plastics and prevents VOC contaminants from entering landfills or the environment. We safely recover scarce materials in our process for responsible re-use in the electrification economy and end the practice of re-introducing contaminants back into the environment.
- Our facility is regionally close to the largest clusters of recurring solar waste volume in the United States.
- Our solution can enhance ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance.
Decommissioned panels come from removing a solar panel system, installation breakage, regular maintenance, or damage replacements and landfills. Sources include (i) utilities, (ii) O&M Groups, (iii) environmental consulting and engineering groups, (iv) collectors – aggregators, (v) installers/contractors, and (vi) municipalities, community groups, and other local organizations.
Comstock Metals charges up-front tipping fees based on unique customer waste profiles and volume that are cost competitive as compared to alternative disposal solutions, from transport to Certificate of Destruction. Waste suppliers should contact us directly for a quote.
Yes, we accept all brands of solar panels, including First Solar.
Send Us Your Panels
We are currently accepting decommissioned solar panels at our first end-of-life facility in Silver Springs, NV from utilities, O&M (operation & maintenance) groups, solar engineers, consultants, contractors, and municipalities.
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Connect or Request a Quote
Learn more about our full-service solar panel offering and become part of our mission to make solar energy truly green and sustainable. Send us an email today.
- P.O. Box 1118 Virginia City, Nevada 89440
- metals@comstockinc.com
