Australia put solar on roofs faster than almost any country on earth, and the first big wave of those panels is now coming down. Some are genuinely dead. Many more are coming off early because owners are upgrading to bigger systems and batteries. Either way, the question lands in our lap every week: what actually happens to the old panels?
We are G-Solar & Electrical, a family-run Cairns electrical contractor based at 32 Magazine Street in Stratford. We install new systems and we decommission old ones across Cairns, Port Douglas, the northern beaches and the Tablelands, so panel disposal is not a theory topic for us. It is a trailer load we have to do something responsible with.
The honest picture in 2026 is a mix. The technology to recycle panels exists and works, real rules are finally arriving, but right now most Australian panels still go to landfill. Here is how it actually works, what it costs, and what your options are in Queensland.
Quick Answer
- More than 90% of a solar panel by weight is recyclable, mostly glass, aluminium, copper, silicon and a little silver
- Despite that, only a small share of Australia’s retired panels are currently recycled. Most still go to landfill
- A national recycling pilot is rolling out from mid 2026, funding about 100 collection sites around the country
- A mandatory product stewardship scheme is being designed to make manufacturers fund end-of-life recycling
- In QLD, options today are commercial recyclers, council e-waste facilities and your installer taking panels away
- Recycling a panel typically costs money, roughly $5 to $15 per panel plus transport, which is why so many get dumped
What Is Actually Inside a Solar Panel
A standard panel is a sandwich. Around three quarters of its weight is glass. The frame is aluminium. The junction box and cabling carry copper. The cells themselves are silicon with fine silver contacts, all glued between plastic layers that hold the sandwich together.
Add that up and more than 90% of the panel by weight is recoverable material. The aluminium and glass are easy wins. The copper is valuable. The silver and high-grade silicon are the prize, but they are trapped in the laminated layers, and separating them cleanly is the hard, expensive part of panel recycling. That laminate is the reason panel recycling has lagged so far behind the value of what is inside.
None of this is exotic waste. There is nothing in a standard silicon panel that belongs in a hole in the ground, which is why several states have already moved to ban panels from landfill and the rest of the country is heading the same way.
Why Most Panels Still End Up in Landfill
Millions of panels come off Australian roofs every year now, and only a small fraction are recycled. Industry and government reporting has put the recycled share in the single digits. Three reasons drive that:
- It costs money. Recyclers typically charge in the region of $5 to $15 per panel to process, plus the cost of getting panels to them. Landfill or a skip bin is cheaper and easier, so that is where panels quietly go.
- Distance. The serious recycling facilities cluster around capital cities. From Cairns, every recycling path involves 1,700 km of highway to Brisbane, and freight for a pallet of glass sandwiches is not trivial.
- Nobody has been responsible. Until now there has been no national rule making anyone, not the manufacturer, importer, installer or owner, deal with panels properly at end of life.
There is a fourth, more hopeful reason: many panels coming off roofs are not actually dead. Panels are a 25 to 30 year product, and plenty of ten-year-old panels removed in upgrades still work fine. Our guide to how long solar panels last covers real degradation rates. Working second-hand panels sometimes find a second life on sheds and off-grid setups, though they come with no meaningful warranty, and if the original installer has vanished you inherit the problems we describe in our guide to orphaned solar systems.
What Is Changing in 2026
Two big shifts are underway, and both are worth knowing about before you replace a system.
First, the federal government is funding a national solar panel recycling pilot, announced with $24.7 million behind it, rolling out from mid 2026. The plan is around 100 collection sites across the country so that panels have somewhere sensible to go, including in regional areas like ours where the nearest recycler has always been a very long drive away.
Second, and bigger, governments have been designing a mandatory product stewardship scheme for solar, with NSW leading the work on behalf of all states. Under that model, manufacturers and importers would fund collection and recycling of panels at end of life, the same way TVs and computers are handled. The design work is in its final stages, with a scheme expected to follow the pilot. Once that lands, recycling should stop costing the panel owner money, which fixes the main reason panels get dumped today.
Until then, the system is honest-effort territory. The rules are coming, the pilot sites are coming, but in 2026 doing the right thing with old panels still takes a little intent.
Your Options in Queensland Right Now
If you have old panels to move on in FNQ today, here is the realistic menu:
- Ask your installer to take them. When we replace a system, we can remove the old panels and route them to recycling rather than the skip. If you are getting quotes for a replacement, ask every installer what happens to the old gear. The answer tells you a lot about the company.
- Commercial recyclers. Queensland has a purpose-built solar recycling plant in Brisbane run by Pan Pacific Recycling, capable of processing hundreds of thousands of panels a year, and the state ran a recycling and reuse pilot with the Smart Energy Council to feed it. From Cairns the challenge is freight, which is why panels here usually travel as part of a bulk load rather than one household at a time.
- Council e-waste. Cairns Regional Council transfer stations accept various e-waste streams, and councils are increasingly adding panels. Check with council before you load the ute, because accepted items and fees change.
- Reuse. Working panels from an upgrade can go to sheds, camps and off-grid projects. Just be honest with whoever takes them about age and warranty status.
One thing we will say plainly: do not pay someone cash to “take them away” with no answer on where they go. That is how panels end up dumped in the bush, and in QLD the waste still traces back to you.
Replace, Repair or Keep: The Question Before Recycling
The best recycling outcome is the panel that never comes down early. Before anyone talks you into a full system replacement, it is worth knowing which parts actually fail. In our experience it is rarely the panels. Inverters do most of the dying in a solar system, and our guide to inverter replacement in Cairns explains when a new inverter revives an otherwise healthy array.
A solar health check will tell you whether your panels are actually degraded or just dirty, shaded or dragged down by one fault. Panels with cracked glass, burnt cells or failed diodes should come down, and a check of your panel warranty is worth doing first, because a genuine product fault inside the warranty period is the manufacturer’s problem, not the tip’s.
And when a replacement really is the right call, the same buying logic applies as always: a quality panel that lasts its full 25 to 30 years is the most sustainable panel you can buy. Ongoing solar maintenance is what gets them there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can solar panels be fully recycled?
More than 90% of a panel by weight can be recovered, mostly glass, aluminium and copper. The hard part is separating the silicon and silver from the laminated plastic layers, which specialist plants can now do. Full recovery of every material is still not standard at every facility.
How do I dispose of solar panels in Queensland?
Ask the installer removing them to route them to recycling, use a commercial recycler such as the Brisbane solar recycling plant, or check whether your council transfer station accepts panels as e-waste. Do not put panels in a skip or general waste.
Does solar panel recycling cost money?
Usually yes in 2026, commonly around $5 to $15 per panel for processing plus transport. The planned product stewardship scheme is designed to shift that cost to manufacturers and importers, which should make recycling free or near free for owners.
Are old solar panels worth anything?
Working panels from upgrades have modest second-hand value for sheds and off-grid use. Dead panels are worth nothing to you directly, though the aluminium, copper, silver and silicon inside are exactly why recyclers want them in volume.
Is it illegal to dump solar panels in Australia?
Some states have banned e-waste including panels from landfill, and the rest of the country is moving the same way as the national scheme develops. Illegal dumping is an offence everywhere. Treat panels as e-waste, not general rubbish.
Do solar panels need replacing after 10 years?
No. Quality panels are built for 25 to 30 years and degrade slowly. Ten-year-old systems usually need an inverter, a service or nothing at all. Get the system tested before you let anyone sell you a full replacement.
Upgrading? We Handle the Old Panels Properly
If you are replacing or upgrading a system, we will quote the new gear and deal with the old panels responsibly, not quietly send them to the tip. Local, family run, licensed electricians serving all of FNQ. Call 07 4039 4914 or get in touch.