Guide for Reuse, Repair, Recycling, and Safe Disposal
for Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and the City of Palo Alto

What do I do with:

Near:

SEARCH

Solar Panels - Non-working

Household Hazardous Waste

This item should never be put in a curbside bin. For more information visit our household hazardous waste page.

Problem with your solar panels? Contact your installer or service provider for repair options. If the panels need to be replaced but still operate, donate for reuse or contact a reseller (ex. Habitat for Humanity). In California, DTSC lists Universal Waste Recyclers that treat Solar Panels (PV Modules). Note that some recyclers only accept from large private companies or government contracts - not from consumers. Solar Panel Handlers consolidate and then send them to recyclers. Many panels don't make it to recyclers due to the cost to recycle per panel; panels are most often transported to other states for recycling.

The California Product Stewardship Council's Solar Panel Stewardship hosts the most current links to policy, studies, and articles on solar panels. Considering solar? PG&E's Residential Guide to Solar Installation. Solar Permitting Guidebook (4th Edition). The California Energy Commission maintains a list of PV modules available by manufacturer and model number, and includes the hazardous content. Updates from E-Scrap and E-Reuse Conference.

Vendors

Vendor Address City Destination Disposal Method Notes
WRS Materials 2240 Ringwood Avenue San Jose Recycle Drop-off for a Fee wafer recycling
We Recycle Solar 4742 N 24th St
Suite 300
Phoenix Recycle Pick-up for a Fee Commercial quantity. Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, and assorted thin film PV cells; batteries; inverters; mounts and racks.
We Recycle Solar 4742 N 24th St
Suite 300
Phoenix Safe Disposal Pick-up for a Fee Commercial quantity. Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, and assorted thin film PV cells; batteries; inverters; mounts and racks.
Surplus Service 3090 Osgood Ct Fremont Recycle Pick-up for a Fee
SRS (Solarsilicon Reycling Services) 2433 Eastman Ave Ventura Recycle Drop-off for a Fee Large/commercial quantity. ignot & ignot production equipment
SolarCycle 4104 Balfour Ave Oakland Recycle Drop-off for a Fee SOLARCYCLE partners with residential, commercial and industrial (C&I), and utility companies to recycle solar systems at scale and help build a circular solar economy.
Solar Recycling Company Directory (ENF) Oakland Recycle Free Mail-in Online listing of companies providing recycling
Silrec 1792 Alysheba Way
Suite 380
Lexington Recycle Pick-up for a Fee Commercial entities. Recycles scrap silicon.
SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Assn.) 600 14th Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington DC Recycle Free Mail-in Online info. The National PV Recycling Program, founded in 2016, is a network of recycling and refurbishment providers that can provide end-of-life management services to solar and storage installers, project and system owners, developers, distributors and other parties. These organizations are capable of providing repair, refurbish, resale, and recycling services for PV modules, inverters and other solar equipment.
San Francisco Recycling South San Francisco Recycle Pick-up for a Fee Panels are refurbished, and non-working and replaced parts are recycled when possible. $60/panel Broken panels, thin films and frames. Min trip fee $45-65 per trip applied depending on quantity & location.
Safety Kleen Systems (Rohnert Park) 5750 Commerce Blvd Rohnert Park Safe Disposal Pick-up for a Fee
Safety Kleen (San Jose) 1147 N 10th Street San Jose Safe Disposal Pick-up for a Fee
Recycle1234: E-Waste & Solar Panel Recycling Center 30311 Whipple Rd Union City Repair Drop-off for a Fee Drop off fee of $35 per working or non-working PV module for refurbishing or recycling.
PV Recycling 2212 North 23rd Avenue Phoenix Recycle Drop-off for a Fee Commercial quantity
Metal & Catalyst Resources 1513 West Dallas St
Suite 200
Houston Recycle Drop-off for a Fee
Jinko Solar (US) 595 Market St
Suite 2200
San Francisco Recycle Pick-up for a Fee Commercial quantity
Interco 10 Fox Industrial Drive Madison Recycle Drop-off for a Fee, Pick-up for a Fee, Buyback Pick-up
iFixit 1330 Monterey St San Luis Obisbo Repair Free Mail-in DIY repair instructions
GreenWaste of Palo Alto 2765 Lafayette St Palo Alto Recycle Pick-up for a Fee Bulky Pickup. This item can be collected curbside for a fee or for no charge during your Clean Up Day.
GreenCitizen 1831 Old Bayshore Hwy, Ste. #2 Burlingame Recycle Drop-off for a Fee Non-broken monocrystalline and polycrystalline type of panel (Intact). $1.50/lb

Curbside Service

Bulky Pickup Note
Alameda
Contact ACI at (510) 483-1400 for a bulky pick-up.
###
Albany
###
Berkeley
Castro Valley Sanitary District
Separate and label good/working condition items for donation as part of your Bulky & Reuse Pick-up set out.
###
Dublin
###
Emeryville
###
Fremont
Hayward
###
Hayward (Oro Loma - L2)
###
Livermore
###
Newark
###
Oakland
###
Piedmont
###
Pleasanton
###
San Leandro
###
San Leandro (Oro Loma - L3)
###
San Lorenzo (Oro Loma)
###
Unincorporated Oro Loma (L1)
###
Union City

Questions? Comments?   We're here to help!      Get in touch!

Additional Tools

  • Item Search
  • Vendor Search
  • Information for Vendors

Grab the mobile apps for answers on the go:

Download on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
Brought to you by A public agency reducing waste in Alameda County since 1976.