Federal government funds $25m national solar panel recycling scheme
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More news: The federal government will invest $24.7 million in a national pilot for recycling solar panels to reduce landfill and increase the availability of minerals that are crucial to the energy transition.
The program will be funded over three years and establish up to 100 pilot collection sites across the country. It was announced at a press conference attended by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Environment Minister Murray Watt.
The government also said it is considering the other recommendations made in the Productivity Commission’s circular economy report released on Friday morning.
The Smart Energy Council said the announcement comes after a joint statement calling for the scheme, and signed by more than 60 organisations, was released in September 2025 following a decade of advocacy from the renewable energy industry group.
The industry group said the national pilot will build on its solar panel recycling pilot conducted over 2024-25 in Queensland with state government support.
What they said: “Recycling solar panels and reusing the essential components will reduce costs and make our economy more productive and efficient. This means less waste and more access to valuable metals,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.
“Recycling solar panels and reusing our critical resources is an important part of the energy transformation and that’s what this is all about.”
Productivity Commission urges government to lead national solar panel, EV recycling scheme
The news: The Productivity Commission is urging the government to progress work on a national product stewardship scheme for solar panels and investigate a similar scheme for electric vehicle batteries.
It also called for a Circular Economy Regulatory Reform Taskforce to be established by the federal government to drive regulatory reforms and harmonisation across state and territory governments.
The context: The recommendations are contained in a report from the federal government's economic think tank about opportunities in the circular economy, which considered ways to increase productivity of materials and reduce costs. It was released on Friday.
The Productivity Commission said a national framework for small electronics would require businesses “who make, sell or import products to share responsibility for reducing waste throughout the product lifecycle”.
The report has highlighted a slew of other opportunities to streamline regulations including the reduction of “overly restrictive standards and specifications in construction” to increase access to lower cost and more sustainable materials.
A challenge-based grant scheme that incentivises businesses to develop new circular economy initiatives has also been proposed.
What they said: “State governments are forging ahead with their own product stewardship schemes. We require urgent national coordination on this issue to ensure consistency and certainty,” said Commissioner Alison Roberts.
“Australia produces three times the e-waste per person of the average country but recovers relatively little of it.
“When disposed of inefficiently, e-waste can harm the environment and human health. But recovering the valuable metals it contains presents a significant economic opportunity.”
