The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought responses from multiple government agencies on a plea regarding improper disposal and recycling of photovoltaic solar modules.

The NGT was responding to a letter petition from a resident from Sapai village, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. It drew attention to the lack of waste management protocols and proper disposal of damaged solar panels from agricultural solar systems usage in villages under the PM KUSUM program.

The tribunal responses from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India, the Central Pollution Control Board, the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, and the Ministry of New Renewable Energy (MNRE).

The petitioner highlighted a significant gap in the life cycle management of damaged solar panels. The solar panels cannot be repaired and must be discarded as scrap. However, insufficient disposal or recycling infrastructure leads to these panels being buried in agricultural fields or sent to landfills, harming the soil quality.

Scrap dealers only accept limited aluminum, copper, and glass from the solar panels, rejecting the remaining non-recyclable materials such as polymers, silicon, and other substances. These materials are also sent to landfills, the petitioner said.

The letter petition mentioned that solar modules contain heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, which leach into the soil and cause long-term environmental damage.

In 2023, MNRE informed the Rajya Sabha that the management of waste generated from solar modules and cells had been added to the E-waste Management Rules 2022.

In 2020, the MNRE issued a blueprint for the utilizing, manufacturing, disposing, and importing solar modules and glass containing antimony. The ministry released the concept note after NGT in Delhi issued the directions.

According to Central Pollution Control Board guidelines, every manufacturer and producer of solar photovoltaic modules and cells must store the waste generated up to the year 2034-35.