Recycling wind turbine blades is nearly impossible. Veolia North America thinks it can keep them out of landfills.

Elizabeth McCauley,Katie NixdorfFeb 17, 2023, 22:45 IST

Piles of wind turbine blades at a waste management facility in Missouri.Sam Paakkonen

Wind turbine blades are difficult to recycle because of their massive size and durable material.
One company is the first in the US to shred the blades so they can be used as fuel in cement-making.

As America installs more wind turbines, a new waste problem is growing.

Smithsonian/Getty Images

The massive blades have to be replaced every 20 years — and sometimes more often if they break or need upgrades.

Smithsonian/Getty Images

And most of them end up in landfills.

A pile of wind turbine blades in Louisiana, Missouri.Sam Paakkonen

Wind energy is growing faster than any other type of renewable energy, according to 2021 data. But to reach net-zero emissions of planet-warming gases, global capacity still needs to double — which could mean a tsunami of turbine waste.

Sam Paakkonen

Wind energy is growing faster than any other type of renewable energy, according to 2021 data. But to reach net-zero emissions of planet-warming gases, global capacity still needs to double — which could mean a tsunami of turbine waste.

Figuring out how to recycle it now could save a major headache down the road. Veolia — a waste, water, and energy management company — is trying to do just that.

Sam Paakkonen

Figuring out how to recycle it now could save a major headache down the road. Veolia — a waste, water, and energy management company — is trying to do just that.

It gets the blades from GE Renewable Energy. They travel from all over the US to the town of Louisiana, Missouri.

Sam Paakkonen

The first step is slicing them into smaller segments.

Re-Wind

After being sliced into a more manageable size, the blades look like this.

Sam Paakkonen

The next stop is this shredder. It's powerful enough to crush the 20-foot sections into pieces about the size of a football.

Sam Paakkonen

The chunks go to another shredder that grinds them down even more.

Sam Paakkonen

Then a sorting machine filters out any remaining large pieces.

Sam Paakkonen

The final product looks like this.

Sam Pakkonoen

Right now, GE pays Veolia to recycle the blades, and Veolia pays to send the final product to cement factories.

A cement plant in Lägerdorf, Germany.picture alliance/Getty Images

But most of the cement industry's emissions come from heating limestone in kilns, so this process probably won't make much of a dent.

A furnace used in industrial cement production.Artur Osypian/Getty Images

Veolia says the main benefit of shredding and burning giant turbine blades is keeping them out of landfills.

Sam Pakkonen

Some researchers say reusing the blades would be better — like Larry Banks, whose team at Re-Wind is using one to build a pedestrian bridge in Ireland.

Re-Wind

They have proposals to turn wind turbines into cellphone towers and fencing, too.

Re-Wind

Re-Wind isn't alone in looking for creative ways to reuse turbines. Architects in the Netherlands turned old blades into a playground.

Denis Guzzo

Another company in Denmark, called Siemens Gamesa, created a bike shed.

Siemens Gamesa

These reuse-focused solutions probably can't take on the scale of the waste that's coming.

Sam Pakkonen

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Recycling wind turbine blades is nearly impossible. Veolia North America thinks it can keep them out of landfills.

As America installs more wind turbines, a new waste problem is growing.

The massive blades have to be replaced every 20 years — and sometimes more often if they break or need upgrades.

And most of them end up in landfills.

Wind energy is growing faster than any other type of renewable energy, according to 2021 data. But to reach net-zero emissions of planet-warming gases, global capacity still needs to double — which could mean a tsunami of turbine waste.

Figuring out how to recycle it now could save a major headache down the road. Veolia — a waste, water, and energy management company — is trying to do just that.

It gets the blades from GE Renewable Energy. They travel from all over the US to the town of Louisiana, Missouri.

The first step is slicing them into smaller segments.

After being sliced into a more manageable size, the blades look like this.

The next stop is this shredder. It's powerful enough to crush the 20-foot sections into pieces about the size of a football.

The chunks go to another shredder that grinds them down even more.

Then a sorting machine filters out any remaining large pieces.

The final product looks like this.

Right now, GE pays Veolia to recycle the blades, and Veolia pays to send the final product to cement factories.

But most of the cement industry's emissions come from heating limestone in kilns, so this process probably won't make much of a dent.

Veolia says the main benefit of shredding and burning giant turbine blades is keeping them out of landfills.

Some researchers say reusing the blades would be better — like Larry Banks, whose team at Re-Wind is using one to build a pedestrian bridge in Ireland.

They have proposals to turn wind turbines into cellphone towers and fencing, too.

Re-Wind isn't alone in looking for creative ways to reuse turbines. Architects in the Netherlands turned old blades into a playground.

Another company in Denmark, called Siemens Gamesa, created a bike shed.

These reuse-focused solutions probably can't take on the scale of the waste that's coming.