The European solar power industry yesterday launched a new voluntary take-back scheme to ensure defective and used photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are properly recycled and valuable or hazardous materials are safely recovered.

Several leading solar companies, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and the German Solar Business Association (BSW) have joined together to launch the PV Cycle scheme which will see them develop "a European-wide collection, recycling and recovery system".

The new group said that the take-back scheme should go into operation next year and will aim to recover up to 90 per cent of PV waste by 2015. It is also expected to develop best practices for waste handling, recycling and reuse and undertake research projects to help minimise waste at the design stage.

Marie Latour of the EPIA said that currently there was little need for a formal PV recycling scheme due to the fact that relatively few PV panels have yet reached the end of their life. But she added that the industry was already preparing for a waste issue that is likely to emerge in 15 to 20 years, when recently installed panels will need replacing.

"There are components that will need recycling correctly when they reach end of life and we are anticipating that need and getting in early to set up a take-back programme," she said.

The hazardous substances found in many solar panels have received little focus due to the relatively small size of the industry and the broader environmental benefits they can deliver. However, while the most popular silicon-based technologies are relatively harmless, concerns remain about potential leaching from lead-based solders if the panels are sent to landfill. Meanwhile, some alternative thin-film PV technologies, such as Cadmium-Telluride cells, can contain highly toxic substances that require special waste treatment.

Latour said that besides tackling concerns over hazardous substances, the take-back scheme would also help solar panel manufacturers limit the risk of raw material shortages.

"Many of the materials in the cells can be reused so recycling them and reusing material where possible will put less pressure on resources," she explained.

Moreover, the provision of a voluntary PV take-back scheme may serve to head off EU legislation demanding that manufacturers provide recycling services to customers.

The EU's waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) directive demanding the free and safe disposal of electrical equipment is currently under revision and could be extended to include solar panels. However, the EPIA argued that the new PV Cycle scheme would prove more effective at increasing recycling rates than a mandatory scheme.

"An inclusion of the PV-sector in WEEE would result in 27 differently designed recycling systems, with inherent administrative procedures and costs," the group said in a statement. "The take-back system proposed by PV-Cycle will instead create a coherent EU-wide recycling system that will enable efficient and economically viable management of waste from the PV-sector. EPIA together with PV Cycle is therefore urging the Commission… not to include photovoltaic products within the future scope of the revised WEEE Directive."