How do you dispose of old solar panels?
The right route depends on whether the panel still works and where you live. If it still produces power, resell or donate it before anything else, since a working panel has real value and reuse beats recycling. If it is dead or damaged, recycle it through a dedicated PV recycler, a manufacturer take-back program, or the solar industry's recycling network. Only landfill as a last resort, and only where your state permits it, because a solar panel is electronic waste, not household trash.
For a whole rooftop system, you usually do not handle disposal yourself. When you re-roof, upgrade, or decommission, the installer removes the panels and hauls them away as part of the job, and the removal cost is bundled into that work. That matters because taking panels off a roof means heights and live DC wiring, which is licensed work. Your part is asking the installer where the panels go and choosing recycling over the dump if it is offered. If you are replacing only a failed panel or two, see solar panel repair first, since the fix is often cheaper than a full swap.
For a few loose panels (an old RV, shed, or off-grid setup, or DIY ground-mount modules you took down yourself), you have more direct options. Call your county's e-waste or household hazardous waste facility, look up a regional solar recycler, or check whether the panel's manufacturer runs a take-back program. Many electronics recyclers now accept PV modules, though some charge a per-panel fee. Do not smash a panel to make it fit a bin; broken glass releases the small amounts of metal inside that recycling is meant to capture.
Can solar panels be recycled?
Yes, solar panels are highly recyclable: recyclers can recover more than 85% of a panel by weight, and advanced processes reach past 90%. The bulk of a panel is materials the world already recycles at scale. Glass makes up roughly 75% of the weight, the frame is aluminum, and inside are silicon cells plus small amounts of copper and silver. A recycler strips the aluminum frame and junction box, separates the glass, and then uses mechanical, thermal, or chemical steps to recover the silicon and the trace metals.
The catch is that recycling a panel is not yet common in practice. Fewer than 10% of retired US panels are recycled today, and most still go to landfill. The reason is cost, not technology: it is far cheaper to dump a panel than to disassemble it and recover a few dollars of material. That is starting to change as installation volumes from the 2010s reach end of life and dedicated recyclers scale up, but for now recycling takes a deliberate choice on your part rather than being the default.
A handful of real options exist. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) runs a national PV recycling network that connects owners with vetted recyclers, and dedicated companies like Solarcycle and We Recycle Solar process panels at scale. Some panel manufacturers also offer take-back. If you want the materials actually recovered rather than buried, route the panels to one of these rather than the nearest transfer station.
Are solar panels hazardous waste?
Sometimes, and it depends on the panel and your state. Most crystalline silicon panels are not automatically hazardous, but some fail the federal toxicity test (the TCLP) for lead, which comes from the solder that connects the cells. Thin-film panels are different: cadmium telluride (CdTe) and some other thin-film types contain heavier metals and are more likely to be regulated as hazardous. You often cannot tell by looking, which is one more reason not to treat a panel like ordinary trash.
State rules matter more than the federal baseline here. California classifies end-of-life solar panels as universal waste, a category that eases handling while still keeping them out of regular landfills. Washington passed a manufacturer take-back (product stewardship) law for PV modules. Other states are writing their own rules as the retirement wave builds. Before you landfill anything, check your state environmental agency and your county's hazardous or e-waste program, because what is legal in one state is banned in the next.
The practical takeaway: keep panels intact, and use an e-waste or hazardous-waste channel rather than the household bin. The amounts of lead or cadmium in a single panel are small and sealed, so an intact panel on your roof is not a health risk. The concern is at end of life, when a crushed panel in an unlined landfill can let those metals leach out. Recycling or proper disposal exists to prevent exactly that.
How much does it cost to dispose of or recycle a solar panel?
Recycling a solar panel typically costs about $15 to $45 per panel, while landfilling one costs only a dollar or a few dollars in tipping fees. That gap is the whole story of why the recycling rate is low: the recovered glass, aluminum, and metals are worth less than the labor to extract them, so without a rule requiring recycling, price pushes panels toward the dump. These are rough figures that vary by recycler, region, and volume.
For a home system, disposal cost is usually folded into a bigger job rather than billed on its own. When an installer removes an array for a re-roof, an upgrade, or a decommission, hauling the old panels is part of the removal line item. If you are handling a few loose panels yourself, expect a per-panel fee at many e-waste or recycling facilities, and call ahead, since not every site accepts PV modules and drop-off rules vary.
Cost is also why reuse beats recycling on the money. A panel that still works is worth more sold or donated than the scrap value you would recover by recycling it, and it skips the disposal fee entirely. Sizing questions (how many panels a system had, what a replacement array would need) are easy to check with the solar panel calculator if you are weighing removal against an upgrade.
Are old solar panels worth anything?
It depends entirely on whether they still produce power. As scrap, one panel holds only about $10 to $15 of recoverable material (mostly aluminum and glass, with a little silver and copper), which is usually less than it costs to recycle it. That low scrap value is exactly why so few panels get recycled and why nobody is going to pay you for a dead panel.
As a working used panel, the value is far higher. A panel pulled from a roof or ground mount that still makes most of its rated power can sell for real money to RV owners, off-grid tinkerers, and shed and cabin builders who want cheap watts and do not need a warranty. Reselling avoids the disposal fee and keeps a good panel in service, so always test output before you assume a panel is trash. Our guide to used solar panels covers what they go for and what to inspect.
So the order of value is simple: reuse, then recycle, then landfill. If a panel works, sell or donate it. If it is genuinely dead, recycle it so the glass and metals are recovered. Landfill only when neither is available and your state allows it. The wrong move is tossing a working panel or crushing a dead one into the trash, which throws away both the value and the recyclable material.
What happens to solar panels after 25 years?
Most panels do not die at 25 years; they keep working at reduced output. A 25-year-old panel typically still makes around 80% to 88% of its original power, because panels degrade slowly (roughly half a percent a year) rather than failing on a schedule. The 25-year mark is when the manufacturer's performance warranty ends, not when the panel stops working, so many keep running for years after that. See how long solar panels last for the full timeline.
When output finally drops enough to matter, you have the same three choices as any old panel: keep running it if the numbers still pay, replace or upgrade to newer, more efficient panels, or retire and dispose of it. Many homeowners upgrade before the panels are truly dead, simply because modern panels pack more watts into the same roof space, which leaves a still-working panel that is a perfect candidate for resale rather than the landfill.
This is also why a wave of solar waste is coming. The panels installed during the 2000s and 2010s boom are reaching retirement now, and recycling capacity is racing to keep up. Planning ahead helps: when your system nears end of life, line up a recycler or a take-back program before removal day so the panels do not default to the dump. A little planning is the difference between recovered material and buried glass.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get rid of my solar panels?
Resell or donate them if they still work, recycle them through a PV recycler or manufacturer take-back program if they are dead, and landfill only as a last resort where your state allows it. For a rooftop system, the installer removes and hauls the panels as part of a re-roof, upgrade, or decommission. For a few loose panels, call your county e-waste or hazardous waste facility or a regional solar recycler, and keep the panels intact rather than smashing them.
What should I do with old solar panels?
Test their output first. A panel that still produces power is worth reselling or donating to an RV, shed, or off-grid user, which avoids the disposal fee and keeps it in service. A panel that is genuinely dead should be recycled so its glass, aluminum, and metals are recovered rather than buried. Do not put a panel in the household trash; it is electronic waste and some panels are regulated as hazardous.
What do you do with solar panels after 25 years?
At 25 years most panels still make about 80% to 88% of their original power, so you often do not have to do anything right away. When output drops enough to matter, either keep running them, upgrade to newer panels (which leaves a resaleable working panel), or retire and recycle them. The 25-year mark is when the performance warranty ends, not when the panel stops working.
How hard is it to dispose of solar panels?
The disposal itself is not technically hard, but it takes a deliberate choice because recycling is not the default. Most areas do not recycle panels automatically, so you have to route them to a PV recycler, a take-back program, or an e-waste facility that accepts modules, often for a per-panel fee. The harder part is removal: taking a wired rooftop array down safely is licensed work at height with live DC, which is why a professional does it.
Are old solar panels worth anything, and how many get recycled?
As scrap, one panel holds only about $10 to $15 of recoverable material, usually less than the cost to recycle it, which is why fewer than 10% of retired US panels are actually recycled. A working used panel is worth much more resold than scrapped. Recyclers can recover more than 85% of a panel by weight (glass is about 75% of it), so the material is worth capturing even though the per-panel dollar value is low.