Expiring solar panels, EV batteries and wind turbines can create huge waste

Renewable energy has been said to be a boon for climate action. But what happens to the pile of waste generated as the first wave of renewable energy sources reaches the end of its shelf life?

Workers placing loose mobile phone batteries onto a conveyor belt to be shredded at the TES Singapore battery recycling facility in Tuas. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
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The green energy revolution has an image problem: growing amounts of waste.

But a recycling company in Singapore’s Tuas industrial district is trying to address this by turning old lithium-ion batteries into new ones, while another firm in Tuas is making solar panels more efficient and easier to recycle.

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