How do you get rid of old solar panels?
You have three routes: reuse a panel that still works, send it to a solar or electronics recycler, or, only where your state and the facility allow it, landfill it. Do not put panels in curbside trash or recycling. Start with the installer doing the removal, or the leasing company if you don’t own the system, and your state or local environmental agency, which is exactly what the EPA tells homeowners to do.
As of October 14, 2026, solar panels are not a federal universal waste. The EPA has said since 2023 that it plans to propose that change but has not yet published a proposal. California and Hawaii already treat panels as universal waste under state rules. Published recycling prices run about $20 to $30 per panel before pickup and freight.
Reuse, recycling or landfill: what each means
The EPA’s solar panel frequent questions (updated September 18, 2026) draw the line this way:
Route | What the EPA says | What you need |
|---|---|---|
Reuse or resale | A panel legitimately reused to make electricity, or sent to a reseller for reuse or repair, is not solid waste, so hazardous-waste rules do not apply to it. | A tested, working panel, an honest condition record and a buyer or recipient with compatible equipment. The EPA notes the U.S. reuse market has not yet gained much traction. |
Recycling | A panel sent for recycling is solid waste and may also be hazardous waste. Recyclers can use specific exclusions, including the transfer-based exclusion in states that adopted it. | A recycler that accepts your panel type and tells you where the material goes. |
Landfill | A discarded panel is hazardous waste if it fails the federal leaching test for metals such as lead or cadmium. Some panels pass and some fail, even within the same model. Disposing of one as non-hazardous requires a hazardous-waste determination. | Your state’s rules and the landfill’s written acceptance. Some states restrict it. |
Inverters can usually go with electronic waste and aluminum racking with scrap metal, according to the EPA’s recycling page. Batteries are a separate stream; a panel recycler may not take them.
Steps in order
- Confirm who owns the panels. On a lease or PPA, the company that owns the system controls removal, transport and disposal. Call it and do not dispose of its equipment yourself.
- Decide whether any panels still work. Working panels can go to reuse, but only with a safe test and a truthful condition record.
- Ask the installer doing the work. A removal or replacement contractor may already ship panels to a recycler. Get the destination and fee in the written scope.
- Call your state or local environmental agency if the installer does not handle it, and ask which recyclers or facilities accept residential panels.
- Get a recycler quote that lists pickup, packing, freight and processing.
- Use a landfill only after checking the state rules and getting the facility’s acceptance in writing.
Federal and state rules, checked October 14, 2026
Federal: “Currently, solar panels are not a federal universal waste,” the EPA says. It announced a rulemaking on October 23, 2023, and its rulemaking page (updated July 31, 2026) still says it is “planning to propose” adding solar panels to the universal waste rules. Universal-waste status would make collection and recycling simpler; it would not make panels ordinary trash.
State | Rule or program | What it means for a homeowner |
|---|---|---|
California | Solar panels are a state universal waste, effective January 1, 2021. | Easier rules for collectors and recyclers; panels still go to a handler or recycler, not the trash. |
Hawaii | Solar panels are listed in the state’s universal waste rules. | Similar to California; ask the Department of Health or your county for accepted facilities. |
Washington | A 2017 law requires panel manufacturers to fund free takeback for panels bought after July 1, 2017, but the Legislature delayed it again in 2025. Manufacturers now have until January 31, 2031 to have an approved plan. | No free statewide takeback program yet. Ask Ecology or your county for current options. |
New Jersey | Solar Panel Recycling Commission. | A study and policy body, not a disposal program. Check NJDEP for current rules. |
North Carolina | DEQ report on decommissioning renewable energy equipment. | Mostly aimed at large projects. Ask DEQ or your county about residential panels. |
Sources: the EPA’s end-of-life solar panels page (updated September 30, 2026) and state universal waste programs list (updated October 8, 2026), Washington’s Department of Ecology, and a December 2020 summary by the law firm Wiley of California’s rule. The EPA says its state list is not complete, so check your own state environmental agency.
What recycling costs
Few recyclers publish residential prices. These are the dated observations available:
Source | Recycling | Landfill | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
Okon Recycling (February 14, 2025) | $20–$30 per panel | $1–$5 per panel | A recycler’s national estimate; no method or sample stated. |
North Carolina DEQ report (March 1, 2022) | $25–$30 per crystalline-silicon panel, as reported in the U.S. | $0.88 for a 40-pound panel at a municipal landfill | Planning report for utility-scale projects; older figures. |
Example: at $20–$30 per panel, processing alone for a 20-panel home system is $400–$600. Pickup minimums, pallets, freight, broken-panel handling and roof removal are extra and can cost more than the processing for a small load. Ask for one all-in total and the receiving facility’s name.
| Cost item | Ask whether it is included |
|---|---|
| Removal | Electrical shutdown, roof labor and lowering panels. |
| Preparation | Pallets, wrapping, broken-glass containment and loading. |
| Transport | Pickup minimum, mileage and fuel charges. |
| Processing | Per-panel or per-pound fee, and which panel types are accepted. |
| Documentation | Weight ticket, receipt and recycling certificate. |
Finding a recycler
Ask your installer and state agency first; they know who takes residential loads near you. Examples of companies that publicly say they recycle solar panels (not endorsements, and not checked for residential pickup in your area):
- SOLARCYCLE lists recycling facilities in Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Illinois and Nevada. Its site focuses on large projects.
- ERI, a national electronics recycler, says it works with homeowners as well as manufacturers.
- North Carolina’s 2022 DEQ report named Powerhouse Recycling in Salisbury as accepting panels.
When you call, give the panel brand, model, count, condition (intact, cracked, burned or water-damaged) and location. Ask which downstream facility receives the panels and whether you get a certificate.
What to document before the panels leave
- System owner and written authorization.
- Manufacturer, model, serial numbers and quantity.
- Working, damaged or unknown condition, with photographs.
- Carrier, receiving facility and any downstream recycler.
- All-in quoted cost and extra charges for breakage or rejected material.
- Receipt, weight or quantity record and recycling certificate where offered.
Solar panel disposal questions
Can I put old solar panels in the trash?
Not in curbside trash or recycling. Whether a landfill can take them depends on your state, the facility and whether the panel would test as hazardous. Ask your state or local environmental agency first.
Are solar panels hazardous waste?
Some are and some are not. The EPA says some discarded panels fail its leaching test for metals like lead or cadmium and some pass, even within the same model. Panels in use are safe; the question arises once they are discarded.
Do old solar panels have scrap value?
Very little for a homeowner. The EPA says whole panels do not contain enough metal to qualify as scrap metal, which is why recyclers charge a fee. The aluminum racking can go with scrap metal.
Is solar panel recycling free anywhere?
Not as a statewide program today. Washington’s manufacturer-funded takeback law is delayed until 2031. An installer replacing your system may include recycling in its price, so ask for it in writing.
Can a working panel be donated or resold?
Yes, if it is tested, honestly described and going to someone with compatible equipment. The EPA treats legitimate reuse as outside waste rules.
Will the installer take old panels?
Some will arrange pickup or recycling and some will not. Get the destination and any fee in the written removal or replacement scope.
