Post by Aaron Nichols

A very unfortunate number of solar panels are thrown in landfills rather than recycled. Thankfully, people like Dr. Janette Freeman are on the case... She was a mindfulness coach and minister before becoming a leading expert in solar recycling, so she's a fantastic guest. We dive deep into the challenges of keeping clean energy truly clean at the end of its lifecycle. Expect to Learn - Economics of Waste: Why it currently costs $15–$16 to recycle a panel versus just $1 to landfill it (and why that gap is closing fast). - Levels of Recycling: The vital difference between basic metal stripping (solar recycling level 1) and the advanced separation of glass, copper, and silver (advanced solar recycling). - How the solar industry ended up being the first industry in history to impose recycling standards on itself, long before being forced by legislation. Quotes from the Episode: “Clean energy has to take care of their circularity and the end-of-life panels. We can’t be in clean energy and add to a problem on the other side of it.” — Dr. Janette Freeman “What I would hope is that within 80 years, human beings evolve enough to handle this kind of technology… that will determine if we actually still have a planet that’s inhabitable and we can live on.” — Dr. Janette Freeman