In Rotterdam, children play on a playground built from wind turbine rotor blades.
Photographer: Farouk Batiche/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Four Creative Ways to Reuse Wind Turbine Blades
Most parts of wind turbines can be recycled, except for the blades. These companies are working to repurpose blades into new products.
When a wind turbine reaches the end of its life cycle, roughly 85% of its components — including the steel tower, copper wire and gearing — can be recycled. Turbine blades, however, have proven a more intractable challenge.
Made primarily from fiberglass, these blades lack the metals and minerals that attract recyclers. They’re also coated with epoxy resins that make them particularly difficult to crush. As a result, most retired turbine blades end up incinerated or in landfills.