Towards Photovoltaic Module Waste Management in the Philippines: Review of Strategies and Regulatory Framework

Abstract

The drastic increase in solar energy dependency would yield a tremendous amount of waste worldwide, and sustainably managing the emerging PV waste prevents potential environmental impacts and harm to humanity. This paper presents a systematic review of literature to identify strategies for PV module waste management and an internet-based assessment of PV module waste regulations in the Philippines. The systematic review utilized four key phrases to identify relevant articles. The title and abstract of the resulting articles from 2012 to 2022 were screened based on selection criteria and relevance, and 54 articles were selected. In addition, an internet-based assessment was conducted to determine the regulations of PV module waste in the country. Several key themes were also discussed that include waste assessment, global regulatory framework and policies, and end-of-life management encompassing monitoring, collection, recycling, and supply chain for recovered secondary materials. In addition, strategies for the various stages of the life cycle of PV modules were presented in the review. The identified waste management strategies include carefully designed PV modules to withstand breakage, utilization of recovered secondary materials, correct installation procedures, regular PV waste assessment and monitoring, efficient collection and fast classification of PV module waste, and sustainable recycling and recovery methods and technologies. Furthermore, the assessment shows that there is no specific regulation in the country that deals with PV module waste. Policies for PV module waste monitoring, take-back scheme, and subsidization should be explored. Indeed, PV module waste management strategies and regulations in the Philippines are critical to managing emerging waste effectively.

Keywords: photovoltaic module, waste management, strategies, regulations, framework, circular economy