How are Solar Panels Recycled?

SolarShare recently recycled panels with Canada Iron and Metal, a company that has been recycling scrap metal, used cars, and electronic waste in Toronto since 1937! Learn more about the solar panel recycling process below:

• The solar panels and steel clips are shredded, then made into a shredded steel product that is sent to local steel mills, mainly Dofasco and Stelco in Hamilton. They are then melted and turned into HRC coils that are sold to manufacturing companies or automobile companies.
• The aluminum is taken apart from the steel, then sent for smelting, where it is made into aluminum ingots, then sold to various industries.
• The wire goes through a chopper where the aluminum is separated from the plastic using eddy currents and conveyor systems. The aluminum goes through the process above, while the plastic from the wire is recycled.

This is the circular economy at work!