Use of solar energy as an alternative to energy sources that produce air pollution and environmentally harmful greenhouse gasses is on the rise. But along with that clean-energy trend, about 90 percent of the hundreds of millions of solar panels being installed throughout the U.S. are ending up in landfills at the end of their productive life cycles. Those solar panels pose a threat to the environment because of toxic contaminants that can leach into soil from various materials in the panels. Nick Rolston and Meng Tao, professors in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, part of the Fulton Schools, provide details about work being done in ASU’s MacroTechnology Works lab to help remedy the problem.