Repurposing for Resilience

Focus: A shire wide grassroots approach to tackling solar waste.​

Background: The community driven initiative Repurposing for Resilience (RfR) was formally established in 2022, as a solution to extending the life of solar panels to minimise the landfill burden associated with solar industry waste.​

Solar panels and their associated components are often discarded as waste before their true end of life, but RfR volunteers see opportunity and benefit in placing additional value on these classified waste products.​

Circular innovation: RfR combines electrical knowledge from local expertise and innovation to recycle reclaimed solar equipment. Solar panels and their components are segregated and tested before being re-certified for re-use, or, if not meeting industry standards, re-purposed into household items such as furniture, building cladding, agricultural products or art exhibitions.​

Not only is their focus on solar waste but other initiatives such as bringing electrical trade training to the NSW South Coast, giving new life to old computers destined for e-waste, developing battery recycling solutions, and establishing soft plastics recycling facilities in their local area.​

Impact and future development: Through these re-use and re-purposing efforts, RfR are putting a stop to panels entering landfill, reducing the costs for Council and constituents associated with disposal fees, creating new industry markets and providing a safe and cost-effective market for second hand solar products. By incorporating multiple industries along the supply chain, RfR are increasing workforce skills and job opportunities in electrical, renewables, construction, marketing and retail all within the local economy. Its local success can be seen as a solution for other regions of Australia in their battle against e-waste.​

For more information: www.rfreurobodalla.com.au. ​