Do India's e-waste recycling targets apply to solar panels, and what must a solar panel maker do instead?
No recycling target applies. Schedules III and IV of India's E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 say recycling targets do not apply to waste from solar photovoltaic modules, panels or cells. Makers and producers must instead register, store panel waste generated up to 2034-35 and file returns, and recyclers must recover material.
What Chapter V asks of a maker or producer
- Register on the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) portal.
- Store the solar photovoltaic waste generated up to the year 2034-35, as CPCB guidelines lay down.
- File annual returns on the portal up to 2034-35.
- Keep a separate inventory of panels on the portal.
- Process waste other than panels under the rules that apply to it, and follow CPCB's standard procedure.
What a recycler must do
A recycler of solar photovoltaic modules, panels or cells is mandated for recovery of material as CPCB lays down.
What it means for a project owner
Panels are listed in Schedule I and the definition of e-waste includes solar photovoltaic modules, so old panels are e-waste. Hand them to a registered recycler, as rule 8 asks of anyone using at least 1,000 listed units in a year. Keeping the receipt is good practice. The producer's duty to recycle a percentage does not apply to panels.
Where it meets carbon
The panel you remove is Scope 3 Category 5 waste in the year of removal, from the recycler's weight slip. A replacement panel is a Category 2 capital good. Neither depends on the targets.
Which line applies, example
- A maker sells panels in 2026-27: it registers, stores the waste and files an annual return. Its target for panels is none
- Schedule I also lists an item called Inverter (code ITEW25) under information technology equipment. It does not say whether solar inverters are meant, so ask CPCB before you treat a solar inverter as outside the targets
The first line is the rule's position for panels. The second is a gap in the text, not a finding.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into records, so the diesel and power your site uses are on file. These rules are filed on government portals, outside Senseible's records.
- Counting emissions from solar panel recycling
- E-waste recycling targets by year
- E-waste rules: micro units and bulk consumers
- Waste emissions in Scope 3 Category 5
Sources: MoEFCC, E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, rule 12, Schedule I, Schedules III and IV
Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Chapter V and the schedule notes are as first notified. The 2023 amendments touched the hazardous substance rule for panels; this page covers only targets and storage. Check CPCB guidelines for the storage standard.