With concerns about climate change mounting to a fever pitch in recent years, it’s no wonder that many countries have sought to shift their power consumption to renewable energy sources. And one of the most popular options amongst these more sustainable alternatives is wind energy. In places like Denmark—where, in 2019, more than half of its electricity was generated from wind and solar power—towering wind turbines have become a familiar fixture of the native landscape.

However, there are still pros and cons to wind energy, and concerns about some of its disadvantages have been brought to light in recent years. The greatest of these is the recycling of decommissioned wind turbine blades. Due to the strength wind turbines require to function properly, the blades are manufactured from a composite of materials like glass fibers, resins, and foams—substances that are generally non-biodegradable and, therefore, very difficult to recycle.

With a typical estimated lifespan of 20 years, a large quantity of wind turbine blades will need to be decommissioned sometime soon. In fact, it is generally estimated that by 2050 there will be almost 40 million tons of waste material from the global wind industry that will need to be disposed of. But the good news is that there are several companies and research groups that are seeking to find more sustainable ways to recycle and repurpose decommissioned wind turbine blades.

One of these is The Re-Wind Network. Already, they’ve begun repurposing some discarded blades as bike garages in Denmark. The team of researchers is also looking into ways to recycle wind turbine blades as architectural elements to enhance infrastructure. Some of their ideas include using the blades to build pedestrian footbridges, skate parks, and noise barriers for road and highway traffic.

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