Brisbane based Pan Pacific has spent 20 years researching and developing a technology that can now recycle 99 per cent of the valuable materials solar panels contain.
This industry leading work has led to Pan Pacific becoming a key partner in the Smart Energy Council led solar panel recycling pilot in Queensland, that is being supported by the state government.
Resource recovery rates from solar panels at the recycler have in turn prompted a team of researchers from University Queensland to see how, together, they can help train chemistry students to become the next generation of recyclers. The site is also hosting the Smart Energy Council’s testing project in conjunction with the CSIRO, PV Labs and Second Life Solar.
Pan Pacific’s Chief Technology Officer John Hill says he’s on a mission to reduce waste, and see a better world.
“We’re wasting a lot of valuable resources that are currently going into landfill, and eventually we’re going to run out of them.”
“Why continue digging them out of the ground when we’ve already done that, and we can reuse them instead.”
Pan Pacific are currently working on a recycling joint venture in South Australia, and expect to have new plants setup in several other states and territories within the next 12-18 months.