BNE Trading & Recycling - Investing in local, sustainable recycling
BNE Trading & Recycling - Investing in local, sustainable recycling
PV CYCLE Belgium resolutely opts for local, sustainable processing of the photovoltaic panels collected in our country. BNE Trading & Recycling in Overpelt, Limburg, is one of these partners. “Thanks to the best available techniques, we offer the best possible solution for the growing number of used photovoltaic panels coming onto the market,” explains Lien Riepen of BNE Trading & Recycling.
BNE Trading & Recycling is part of the Multi Continental Group. The company opened a recycling line for photovoltaic panels and other electrical and electronic appliances in 2018. The plant represents an investment of six million euros and can process up to 60 tons of electronic waste per day. Multi Continental Group is based at Nolimpark in Overpelt and employs just under 30 people, around eight of whom are responsible full-time for dismantling and recycling solar panels at BNE Trading & Recycling.
A massive influx of photovoltaic panels
“We've seen a huge influx of discarded solar panels in recent years, and we expect volumes to rise further,” says Lien Riepen. “First-generation solar panels have now reached the end of their lifespan and are being replaced in abundance. There are also a growing number of large repowering projects. New-generation photovoltaic panels are much cheaper and their efficiency has increased enormously, making it worthwhile to replace older panels more quickly.”
This development makes it all the more important to carefully recycle all those old devices and give new life to the materials. “Raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce, especially here in Europe. Our recycling process therefore aims to maximize the recovery of materials so that they can be reused as part of the circular economy.”
Pure, immediately usable materials
In the first stage of the recycling process, the solar panels are dismantled by hand. “We remove the cables, casings and aluminum frame. The cables and casings are then shredded so that we can separate the copper and plastic cleanly. The aluminum frames are also sent to our shredding plant,” explains Lien Riepen.
“The result is three pure streams that can be reused by our customers - all Belgian companies - to manufacture new products without too many additional steps. For example, one of our partners uses the plastic from the cables to make soles and weights for fencing.”
Shredding materials on site also offers another important advantage. “Transport is much more efficient, as trucks can be optimally filled. This not only makes economic sense, it also saves a lot of CO² emissions. In this way, we also reduce the impact of our own activities.”
Replacing virgin raw materials
The solar cells themselves are made from a combination of glass, metal and foil. “They are also ground in our factory. However, we cannot separate this mixed stream ourselves,” explains Lien Riepen. “It therefore goes to a foundry where the metals are recovered as a new raw material.
For panel glass, it's a little more difficult. It generally contains a substance - antimony - which turns the recycled glass black, making it unsuitable for the manufacture of glass bottles, for example. “Glass and film are therefore used in the cement industry and road construction to replace other raw materials. Since new raw materials are saved in this way, the final processor receives a raw materials certificate from the OVAM (Flanders Public Waste Agency) for this fraction.”
“Ultimately, thanks to our recycling processes, we can practically reintegrate all materials back into the economy,” Lien Riepen concludes. “What's more, everything stays in our country; we don't export anything. In this way, we avoid long-distance transport and ensure that discarded solar panels benefit our own economy again.”
More information on the Multi Continental Group is available at www.mcgroup.be.