Business
9 February, 2026
Whitlam MP welcomes inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling
Member for Whitlam Carol Berry has welcomed the announcement of an inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling.
Member for Whitlam Carol Berry has welcomed the announcement of an inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling.
Ms Berry is a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water – which will conduct the inquiry.
“Ensuring that renewable technologies such as solar panels are responsibly managed at the end of their life is essential to protecting our environment,” the MP said.
The inquiry will look at how Australia currently handles ageing and decommissioned solar panels – examining the scale of today’s waste challenge and what is expected in the years ahead.
It will assess existing disposal practices, comparing the economic and environmental impacts of reuse versus recycling and landfill.
Ms Berry said the inquiry would also explore the environmental, economic and energy security opportunities that could come from recovering valuable materials from end-of-life panels including glass, silicon, copper and silver.
Additionally, it will consider how developed Australia’s reuse and recycling capabilities are and what more may be needed to support a sustainable and circular solar industry.
Chair of the committee, Ms Anne Urquhart, said it was critical to examine the end-of-life plan for solar infrastructure given the growth of solar generation across the nation.
“To progress Australia’s transition to a circular economy, the barriers to reusing and recycling solar panels at scale need to be identified through close collaboration with industry, academia and subject matter experts,” she said.
The announcement of the inquiry comes just days after the Federal Government said it would spend $24.7 million over the next three years on a national pilot to recycle solar panels.
More than one in three Australian homes now have solar panels but only 17 per cent of those panels are recycled at the end of their life.
More than four million panels are decommissioned in Australia every year with most of them stockpiled, dumped in landfill or exported for re-use.
The pilot has been welcomed by environmental advocates and the Australian Local Government Association.
“Councils play a critical frontline role in waste recovery, managing a large number of waste facilities across the country”, ALGA president Matt Burnett said.
“Any national approach to decreasing the quantities of waste going to landfill or stockpiles helps manage the current unsustainable pressure on councils,” he said.
As part of the pilot 100 collection sites will be established across the country to deal with solar panels and ultimately household batteries.
At this stage it is unknown where those collection sites will be located.
Further information on the parliamentary inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling including the terms of reference and details on how to make a submission can be found on the Committee’s website: Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water – Parliament of Australia
Written submissions must be lodged by March 27, 2026.
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