The new Cosmic Recycling facility, located at 200 Park Street South in Fairfax.

FAIRFAX — A new kind of recycling center is coming to Fairfax called Cosmic Recycling.

The new venture was created by Donnie Hopp and Mark Way who share a mutual commitment to addressing the escalating environmental challenge. The two have created other recycling centers in the state. Their new Fairfax site will give option for disposing of discarded solar panels and electronic waste instead of sending them to the landfills.

Hopp serves as the Director of Operations with Way as Director of Development & Services. In starting Cosmic Recycling, the two worked closely with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and many counties in the state to provide a safe and affordable option for electronic and solar panel recycling.

Cosmic was awarded a grant by the MPCA in the amount of $850,000. The grant funds were used for their new location in Fairfax and were applied to install an air handling system, recycling equipment, forklifts and a skidsteer. Both Hopp and Way stressed the importance of air handling and air quality in the new plant.

The decision to establish the plant in Fairfax came after an extensive search.

“We looked at buildings for at least nine months from Willmar, Minnesota down to the South Dakota border over to the Iowa border – all of southwestern Minnesota,” Way said. “We needed a building that had the electrical capabilities to support our recycling needs. Many of the buildings were of adequate size, but we had to find an industrial space that also made economic sense.”

The two came across Fairfax, a small rural community with a population of approximately 1,200 residents, located in Southwest Minnesota. Hopp and Way both liked the small town feel of Fairfax and believed they could increase its productivity and footprint thus opening the door for future employment opportunities.

“This location will focus on recycling solar panels and electronics that could be computers, printers or televisions,” Hopp said. “Someone dropping off materials to be recycled can actually watch their items being destroyed,” he said. “We encourage people to visit our website to learn more about us.”

Cosmic will partner with local entities to disassemble end of life or damaged solar panel farms. They also recycle individual panels that have been damaged. The materials will be transported to their Fairfax location to be recycled, resourced out or reused to ensure a healthy environment into the future.

“We also have an open door policy with the MPCA that they can visit us any time to watch our processes,” Hopp said. “I have been in the recycling business for a long time and my life goal is to save the environment. In our Cosmos, Minnesota location that we named “PECE” (plastics, electronics, cardboard and everything else), we recycle 29 different plastics and paper there.”

Hopp reported that Cosmic Recycling is working on researching the proper steps to become “R2 certified.” Specifically, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages all electronics recyclers to become certified by demonstrating to an accredited, independent third-party auditor that they meet specific standards to safely recycle and manage electronics.

“We want to take our process to the last step of material that is destroyed. We will sell some of it as 99% recycled and recyclable. We will end up with precious metals, and find end products, such as shingles for homes. We will store the recycled materials onsite until we have an end user,” Hopp said.

A Profile Analysis report, dated September 19, 2024, issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration stated that Minnesotans consume more electricity than the state generates, and Minnesota consistently receives a portion of its annual electricity supply from out of state. Renewable resources, including wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower, generate the largest share of Minnesota’s electricity. In 2023, renewables accounted for 33% of total in-state electricity net generation, natural gas fueled 24%, coal contributed 22%, and nuclear power supplied 21%.

With the uptick in production of solar energy products comes the concern of environmentalists and governmental agencies on the impact of solar panels once they have reached their end of life. Solar panels are primarily fabricated of glass, silicon, metals and plastics, and, if not properly discarded, potentially pose a threat. The Environmental Protection Agency asserts hazardous waste testing on solar panels in the marketplace has indicated that different varieties of solar panels have different metals present in the semiconductor and solder. Some of these metals, like lead and cadmium, are harmful to human health and the environment at high levels. Solar panels have a lifespan of approximately 25-30 years and degrade over time losing capacity to generate electricity.

“With everything going on in the world, I guess I am trying to save the environment for my great-great grand kids. I will do everything in my power, no matter what little I can do, but knowing that it matters,” Hopp said. “It took me five years of reading, understanding, and meeting with the MPCA to understand how to break down solar panels. I am 65 years old. This isn’t for me anymore. This is for my ten grand kids, it’s all for them, they know I am doing it all for them.”