The manager of a Hamburg-based PV module recycling company has warned solar manufacturers, importers and distributors in the EU not to commit to new recycling services contracts until February.
Oliver Friedrichs, manager of the Take-e-Way PV recycling company, says the introduction in February of EU legislation mandating PV module recycling will spur fiercer competition among recycling service companies, including his own.
In a press release sent out at the weekend, Friedrichs said manufacturers, importers and distributors of PV modules in the EU who will be bound to ensure the end-of-life recycling of all modules they bring into the union will be unable to take advantage of the resulting competition among recyclers if they have contractually tied themselves to a new provider.
In February, PV modules will be added to the list of items covered by the EU's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE).
Friedrichs says PV companies affected by the directive should consult the terms of any current recycling contracts, which typically end with the calendar year, and should hold off signing any new deals until the new regulation comes into force.
The VERE Association, Take-e-Way's political wing, will give a lecture on recycling PV modules to the Economic Chamber in Vienna on November 6.
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