The millions of solar panels headed for landfill are a veritable toxic cocktail of gallium arsenide, tellurium, silver, crystalline silicon, lead, cadmium, and heavy earth material.
Did you know that after about 15 to 20 years, solar panels lose their effectiveness and are no longer useful, after which they go to waste.
However, this waste is not like ordinary garbage, it is incredibly toxic and poses a significant risk to the environment.
The toxic chemicals are a problem at the beginning of a solar panel’s life, during its construction, and at the end of its life when it is disposed of.
These two intervals are times when the toxic chemicals can enter into the environment.
In fact, solar panel waste is 300 times more harmful than nuclear waste, and its disposal requires a costly and specialized method.
Unfortunately, many countries send this toxic waste to poorer nations.
This issue is only going to get worse as by 2030, since we will have 8 million tons of “green” waste, and by 2050, that number will balloon to a staggering 80 million tons of solar panel waste that will likely have reached the end of their lives.
