Waste generated from France's first PV recycling facility to find use in aluminium sector

<p>French waste giant Veolia has announced that they have opened first PV recycling facility in Rousset, Bouches-du-Rh&ocirc;ne, southern France. The plant will recycle 1,400 tonnes of material per year from 2017 and scale up to 4,000 tonnes by 2021.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/france_veolia_PV_cycle_750_544_80_s.jpg" alt="news" width="517" height="226" /></p> <p>Veolia has teamed with PV Cycle, the Pan-European take-back and recycling association, for the installation of first PV recycling facility. The waste generated from this plant will be utilized in other sectors such as aluminium, glass and copper.</p> <p>Nicolas Defrenne, chief executive of PV Cycle France, said: "This first unit dedicated to recycling used photovoltaic panels is part of the high value-added strategy in our sector, recovering nearly 96% of materials while reducing the environmental impact of the collection process.&rdquo;</p> <p>{googleAdsense}</p> <p>The recycling facility will help the solar plant owners to act in accordance with the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive as they mandate end-of-life recycling of PV panels.</p> <p>PV Cycle also updated that 55,000 tonnes of PV panels were installed in France in 2016. France&rsquo;s Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy recently revealed new large-scale tenders for utility-scale solar, self-consumption and solar innovations such as solar roads.</p>