As off-grid solar home systems (SHS) rapidly expand across sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring their responsible end-of-life management has become an urgent priority. This USAID-funded study, conducted across Uganda and Senegal, examines the operational challenges, consumer behaviors, and market opportunities surrounding solar e-waste and battery recycling. Drawing on interviews with SHS distributors, e-waste recyclers, battery manufacturers, and 320 rural Ugandan households, the research reveals critical gaps in collection infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and consumer awareness while identifying actionable pathways for companies, governments, and donors to build a more sustainable off-grid solar sector.

The study found that while 76% of SHS distributors see future value in e-waste, only 29% are currently recycling old components. Households owning name-brand solar systems were significantly more likely to dispose of equipment responsibly, and financial incentives even modest ones meaningfully increased willingness to return products to designated collection centers. With millions of SHS components approaching end-of-life in the coming decade, the window to establish sound recycling infrastructure, extended producer responsibility policies, and community-based collection programs is now. This research serves as a foundation for industry innovation, smarter investment, and stronger policy frameworks across East and West Africa.