From: Don Strietelmeier
Columbus
Sen. Greg Walker should be commended for filing a bill to form a joint study committee regarding future disposal of solar panels and other materials that could become an issue for proper disposal.
Most people will gather what we usually refer to as trash and haul it away or have Rumpke or Ray’s pick it up, and we think it’s gone. Well, it’s really not gone, it has just been taken to another location called a landfill.
As a community, a landfill would probably be in the top five in a list of things a community must have.
We need to know where we are going in regard to proposed solar energy areas, including a large one proposed in Bartholomew County. That means a lot of solar panels probably from China and other construction material. Imagine the amount of crating and packing material which will have to be disposed of some place.
And once the project has ended its useful operating life, the land will be reclaimed and returned to the original condition according to my information.
So the panels, concrete, wiring, metal. etc. will have to find a new home, whether it is recycled or ends up in a landfill.
The sun rays are free but the rest of the process has a cost. Perhaps there should be a separate fee for what is disposed of at our county landfill.
Perhaps the study committee Senator Walker has proposed could come up with proposals for best management practices for local government to follow because similar projects will occur in other counties in Indiana.
