I have heard that solar panels have a lifespan of about 20 years and they are filled with heavy metals so they require hazardous waste disposal
The solar panels on my roof are modern and fully recyclable with a 25 year guaranteed life span. They also contain zero cadmium, arsenic,lead, or mercury. Modern silicon thin flim cells do not contain any of those elements anymore. Germanium is used in some high-end cells but it’s value is so high no one in their right mind would land fill it at the prices to be had by recyclers for it. Most of the standard cells are PN cells. p-type semiconductor are boron, gallium, and indium. That is part of the silicon crystal structure and is incapable of being leached out by water action. N type silicon is made with formerly arsenic and now phosphorus in the crystalline structure both are in the ppt range relative to silicon neither can reach due to their bonding to the crystalline structure, both have 5 electron on their outer shell and both work equally well as N type. all modern N type silicon is phosphorus. High end n type uses Germanium over silicon due to it
s 32 v 14 electron holes per atom. But residential cells will almost never be Germanium cells those are reserved for satellites in orbit due to the cost to weight ratio.