![Overview of global PV panel waste projections, 2016-2050](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/pv-disposal1.jpg)
INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY (IRENA)
Growing PV panel waste presents a new environmental challenge, but also unprecedented opportunities to create value and pursue new economic avenues. These include recovery of raw material and the emergence of new solar PV end-of-life industries. Sectors like PV recycling will be essential in the world’s transition to a sustainable, economically viable and increasingly renewables-based energy future. To unlock the benefits of such industries, the institutional groundwork must be laid in time to meet the expected surge in panel waste.