3 ms·

Also this story emerging next to solar growth (nothing is problem free!) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65602519 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/sci

• jamil7 3y ago
  It's been known essentially since the beginning that new infrastructure around these technologies will have to be built out. The article is completely pointless too since it basically says the same thing: > The reason there are so few facilities for recycling solar panels is because there has not been much waste to process and reuse until recently. OK great, so first gen solar panels are starting to be decommissioned and recycling centres are starting to be built.
  • pyrale 3y ago
    In their defense, we've had plastic for much longer, and efficient recycling has been an empty promise so far. It will take special attention for these panels not to end in a landfill or in the ocean like most of the waste we're currently creating.
    • bryanlarsen 3y ago
      Post-consumer recycling is a lot harder than post-industrial recycling. And everybody brings out the plastic recycling boogeyman instead of the myriad recycling programs that are working well, like steel, aluminum, paper and lead acid batteries, among others.
      • pyrale 3y ago
        All the examples you cite are where they are because recycling is competitive with initial extraction. People bring up the plastic boogeyman to show that's not always true. And yes, asking that question early is valuable [1]. [1]: https://cleantechnica.com/2022/07/24/recycling-lead-acid-batteries-is-easy-why-is-recycling-lithium-ion-batteries-hard/ https://cleantechnica.com/2022/07/24/recycling-lead-acid-bat...