Solar panels, inverters and batteries – when it’s time to replace your solar system it’s hard to know what to do with all the components. They can’t go in your kerbside bins and they’re not allowed in hard waste.
Can you upgrade before replacing?
Before you buy new, find out if you can upgrade your system or any of its parts through Merri-bek City Council’s partnership with Solar Savers. Through Solar Savers, solar installers can assess your property and advise if and how they could upgrade your system.
Call Solar Savers on 1300 548 598 or visit the website to find out more.
If you do need a new system, we have partnered with Ecoactiv to offer a paid service to collect your old system and all its components for recycling.
Collections of 6 solar panels from your home in Merri-bek costs around $100 – visit the website or call them on 1800 489 278 to book a collection date and get an exact cost for your needs.
Merri-bek support for solar
To install a new system, our Solar Savers program also offers support to install quality and affordable solar systems. Rebates are also available. Solar Saver’s installer Eko Energy already has in place a solar recycling program so that your new system can be recycled and replaced at its end of life.
Electrify everything
When you’re installing a new system, don’t forget to future-proof your home for a clean energy future with enough capacity to allow it to be 100% powered by electricity. Recent research by Rewiring Australia has shown that a household that is 100% electric could be saving over $5000 per year per home by the end of this decade.
Better solutions
Although solar panels are 100 per cent recyclable, there hasn’t been a critical mass to drive down costs and allow recyclers to reap returns on recovered materials and labour costs and so many are ending up in landfill.
But this is set to change. With many systems coming to end of life, and a huge problem brewing for the future – Australia has the highest uptake of solar in the world – the Australian Government has put the industry on notice that it needs to take responsibility. How this plays out is yet to be seen but it could mean responsibility put on the manufacturers to collect and recycle their end-of-life products.
More information
Recycle your solar system here: https://letsgo.ecoactiv.com.au/moreland
