Household Hazardous Waste
This item should never be put in a curbside bin. For more information visit our household hazardous waste page.
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.
Vendor | Address | City | Destination | Disposal Method | Notes | |
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Clean Management Environmental Group | 915 Industrial Rd | Walterboro | Safe Disposal | Pick-up for a Fee | ||
Buttonwillow Landfill (Clean Harbors) | 2500 West Lokern Road | Buttonwillow | Safe Disposal | Drop-off for a Fee | ||
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. | |
Safety Kleen (San Jose) | 1147 N 10th Street | San Jose | Safe Disposal | Pick-up for a Fee | ||
Safety Kleen Systems (Rohnert Park) | 5750 Commerce Blvd | Rohnert Park | Safe Disposal | Pick-up for a Fee | ||
iFixit | 1330 Monterey St | San Luis Obisbo | Repair | Free Mail-in | DIY repair instructions | |
FixIt Clinic (In-person & Virtual) | Repair | Free Mail-in | Self-repair through the Global Fixers Server on Discord or through Zoom FixIt Clinics. | |||
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. | |
Electronic Recyclers International |
3243 S. East Ave #108 |
Fresno | Recycle | Pick-up for a Fee | On DTSC's List of Universal Waste Recyclers that Treat PV Modules | |
Metal & Catalyst Resources |
1513 West Dallas St Suite 200 |
Houston | Recycle | Drop-off for a Fee | ||
PV Recycling | 2212 North 23rd Avenue | Phoenix | Recycle | Drop-off for a Fee | Commercial quantity | |
CEAR, Inc. | 3678 Lemay St | Mather | Recycle | Pick-up for a Fee | On DTSC's List of Universal Waste Recyclers that treat PV modules | |
SRS (Solarsilicon Reycling Services) | 2433 Eastman Ave | Ventura | Recycle | Drop-off for a Fee | Large/commercial quantity. ignot & ignot production equipment | |
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 | |
WRS Materials | 2240 Ringwood Avenue | San Jose | Recycle | Drop-off for a Fee | wafer recycling | |
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. | ||
Surplus Service | 3090 Osgood Ct | Fremont | Recycle | Pick-up for a Fee | ||
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. | |
Silrec |
1792 Alysheba Way Suite 380 |
Lexington | Recycle | Pick-up for a Fee | Commercial entities. Recycles scrap silicon. | |
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. |
Bulky Pickup | Note | ||
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Alameda |
Contact ACI at (510) 483-1400 for a bulky pick-up. ### |
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Albany |
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Berkeley | |||
Castro Valley Sanitary District |
Separate and label good/working condition items for donation as part of your Bulky & Reuse Pick-up set out. ### |
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Dublin |
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Emeryville |
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Fremont | |||
Hayward |
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Hayward (Oro Loma - L2) |
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Livermore |
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Newark |
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Oakland |
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Piedmont |
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Pleasanton |
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San Leandro |
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San Leandro (Oro Loma - L3) |
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San Lorenzo (Oro Loma) |
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Unincorporated Oro Loma (L1) |
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Union City |
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