Using a network of partners and approved waste facilities, Re-Solar arrange for batches of faulty solar panels to be collected from anywhere in the UK. Re-Solar has the necessary WEEE waste carrier licence from the Environment Agency.

At the workshop, solar panels are processed and put into different categories based on their performance and faults. Faults which can be fixed have remedial work undertaken, and they are checked for product safety.

Using specialist solar flash testing facilities, the solar panels are tested to check their performance. This allows for the panels to be graded and priced accordingly, and can provide assurance to the end user that they are receiving a quality product.

Working with charitable partners and social enterprises, Re-Solar identifies a new home for the solar panels. Assistance can be provided for other materials and components, and we can even assist with the install.

The new home for the photovoltaics will provide an abundance of affordable, carbon free, electricity for the foreseeable future, safe in the knowledge that it has been prevented from entering the waste stream.

Unfortunately, some of the panels Re-Solar receives have truly come to the end of their life. At this stage the panels are broken down into their raw materials, with the components being recycled to make new panels.

Reuse within the solar industry has not been done before in the UK, and Re-Solar is constantly reviewing all aspects of its operations for improvements. This feeds into critical research and publications on this topic, which there is little information on.

All of these processes and research feeds back into manufacturers so they can improve the design of their solar panels, and build them even more resilient and longer lasting. This is the final turn of the circular economy revolution.