Alberta expanding electronic recycling program to include solar panels, EV batteries

Alberta is expanding its recycling capabilities, first to include common household electronics and appliances, but eventually solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, and wind turbine parts, too.

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The first phase of the transformation will begin in April 2025, when the province will start to recycle power tools, lawn and garden equipment, small appliances like microwaves and bathroom scales, cell phones, audio-visual equipment, musical instruments, video game equipment and toys.

Alberta's regulated electronics recycling program currently only takes in computer equipment and televisions.

A pilot run by the Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) since 2020 has helped to recycle hundreds more types of electronic items and will be made a permanent part of the provincial system to accommodate the expansion.

Once expanded, the system will divert an additional 5,500 tonnes of electronic waste from landfills, on top of the current 8,500 annually, the government estimates.

Simultaneously, ARMA and the government will begin consulting on the work needed to set up Alberta's own renewable energy recycling program.

According to the provincial government, Canada does not have a dedicated solar panel recycling program or facility and could see 800,000 tonnes of such equipment reach the end of its life by 2050. Likewise, the country does not have any provincial wind turbine recycling programs and only Quebec has a voluntary and unregulated EV battery recycling system.

The Alberta government says it will also look at how to keep solar panels in use longer.

The announcement was made Tuesday at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre alongside a $250,000 investment to install an artificial intelligence-powered x-ray system there.

The technology scans and identifies material for hazardous waste, such as embedded batteries.

"We’re not just focused on what Albertans want to recycle today, but also what they are going to want to recycle 20 years from now," Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz said in a statement.

"ARMA's expanded electronics recycling program is protecting our environment, fostering innovation and shaping tomorrow's solutions," added the authority's CEO Ed Gugenheimer.