Every week, thousands of solar panels that have reached the end of their life are removed from Australian rooftops and replaced. But they can’t be dumped at the local tip. Even recycling centres don’t want them.

It’s a major headache for solar panel companies like Omzen, which installs about 200 solar panels on homes across Melbourne a week. “Finding someone to take end-of-life panels away is a major challenge. Recycling facilities won’t let us bring solar panels in,” company owner Justin Stiles says.