Schott Solar Signs PV Cycle Environmental Agreement

Schott Solar has signed a voluntary agreement with PV Cycle association, a pan-European system for taking back and recycling end-of-life PV modules; Picture: Schott Solar

The new agreement reached by the industrial association PV Cycle in August calls for at least 85 percent of the PV modules in Europe (European Union and EFTA States) that have reached the end of their service lives to be collected. A dense network of collection points is currently being established for this reason. Owners will be able to return their end-of-life modules free of charge.“By adopting this voluntary commitment, the solar industry and Schott Solar, in particular, are sending a clear message: the issue of sustainability is of great importance to us,” explains Dr. Holger Hoppe, Head of Sustainability and EHS at Schott Solar and a member of the Board of Directors of PV Cycle.

The Mainz based company already became a founding member when the European solar industry first launched PV Cycle back in 2007. The purpose of this nonprofit organization is to establish and operate a pan-European system for taking back and recycling end-of-life PV modules. By doing so, the industry seeks to ensure that these modules are treated properly and valuable raw materials are recovered. The organisation currently represents more than 90 percent of the European solar market. By the end of July, 2011, PV Cycle had already collected more than 600 tons of PV modules and returned them to the recycling cycle.

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EU PVSEC B5 — A67