A recycling center has been established to address environmental issues caused by discarded solar power modules.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a completion ceremony for the 'Solar Power Recycling Center' in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province on the 21st.

The recycling center was built over a period of five years from November 2016 to November of this year with a total investment of 18.8 billion won. It has a full-cycle processing facility for collecting, separating, dismantling, and recycling waste modules.

After a test run, it is expected to begin recycling up to 3,600 tons of waste modules annually starting in January next year.

At the completion ceremony held on the 21st, Choi Jin-hyeok, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Renewable Energy Policy Director, said in his congratulatory speech that he hopes the recycling center will be operated successfully, adding, "When the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system is implemented in 2023, the entry of private companies into the market will increase, revitalizing the waste module recycling market." He added, "I hope that along with the development of the recycling industry, concerns and misunderstandings about the environmental issues of waste solar modules will be naturally resolved."