PV Cycle Belgium claims 404 tons of recycled solar panels in Q1

PV Cycle Belgium, an organization responsible for collecting and recycling solar panels in Belgium, brought in a record amount in the first quarter of this year. The total amounted to 404 tons, equivalent to approximately 18,500 solar panels.

To put the figures in perspective, PV Cycle Belgium says it collected 658 tons throughout 2023. The organization said the quantity of recycled solar panels has more than quadrupled in Belgium in the last five years and added that it is preparing for a continued increase in quantity in the coming years.

“Currently, there are even more new solar panels installed than old panels removed and collected for recycling,” said Johan Goossens, the company’s country manager for Belgium. “But the quantities collected increase from year to year and we must prepare for large quantities that will be recycled in the future.”

To prepare for the increase in quantities, PV Cycle Belgium has announced partnerships with recycling companies in the north and the south of the country, namely BNE Trading & Recycling – based in Pelt, Limburg – and Comet Treatments, which is based in Hainaut. 

“We are convinced that the solar panels that are on roofs today will last a long time, but they will eventually reach the end of life,” Gooseens added. “We will then be ready to collect and process them in order to reuse the precious materials that they contain.”

PV Cycle Belgium collects and processes solar panels free of charge at the end of their useful life. To do this, the company that put the solar panels onto the market pays a contribution of €1.50 ($1.60) per panel to PV Cycle Belgium, which is passed on to the final consumer.

It said the number of companies it is affiliated with increased by one-third last year to reach 400 firms. The number of solar panels reported by these companies increased to 4.2 million modules last year.

Belgium’s cumulative installed PV capacity surpassed 10 GW toward the end of 2023.