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16729
From: pamela, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Landfill begins burying non-recyclable Wind Turbine Blades
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Where's the green recyclable/sustainable/renewable in this? Landfill begins burying non-recyclable Wind Turbine Blades Sep 26, 2019 by NBC The CRL has entered into a deal with three Wyoming wind farms to dispose of decommissioned blades and motor houses. Waste management experts estimate they’ll take hundreds of years to biodegrade Hundreds of giant windmill blades are being shipped to a landfill in Wyoming to be buried because they simply can’t be recycled.Local media reports several wind farms in the state are sending over 900 un-reusable blades to the Casper Regional Landfill to be buried. While nearly 90 percent of old or decommissioned wind turbines, like the motor housing, can be refurbished or at least crushed, fiberglass windmill blades present a problem due to their size and strength. “Our crushing equipment is not big enough to crush them,” a landfill representative told NPR. Prior to burying the cumbersome, sometimes nearly 300-foot long blades, the landfill has to cut them up into smaller pieces onsite and stack them in order to save space during transportation. |
Responses:
[16731] [16732] [16733] [16734] [16736] [16737] [16730]
16731
From: ShakyD, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Landfill begins burying non-recyclable Wind Turbine Blades
URL: https://www.boatbreakers.com/end-life-fibreglass-boat-recycled/
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It is all about $$ Fiberglass can be recycled, but it is currently more cost effective to dump it into a landfill. Germany and Norway have already banned the process of land-filling unwanted fiberglass. Options: 1) Continue putting crushed and chopped Fiberglass into landfill 2) Shred the waste into small "corn flake" sized pieces and put into landfill – a huge saving of landfill space 3) Take the ‘cornflakes’ and grind them into powder and remix with resins and make chairs, gates, tables etc etc from the waste 4) Use chopped or ground Fiberglass mixed with asphalt or cement to build and repair roads. In Germany, Zajons puts the fiberglass in a giant crusher and adjusts the calorific value by adding other types of recycling materials. The production of cement is dependent on large quantities of sand. Sand is also the main constituent of glass, and thus also of fiberglass. Fiberglass additionally contains polyester which can be used as an energy source in cement production, thereby replacing the use of fossil fuels. The waste is sent to the cement manufacturer. This is then fed into the huge kilns that produce the finished cement. Benefit: Recycling 1000 tonnes of fiberglass in cement manufacture saves up to 450 tonnes of coal, 200 tonnes of chalk, 200 tonnes of sand and 150 tonnes of aluminium oxide. And the recycling process produces no dust, ash or other residues. (According to the linked article on end-of-life fiberglass boats). |
16732
From: sequoia, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Landfill begins burying non-recyclable Wind Turbine Blades
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Hi ShakyD. cost effective for whom one might ask? For society as a whole certainly not. Ain't it amazing that first people design these super strong materials, then throw them in a dump, because $$$ ? Now, the dump or landfill or whatever you want to call it also happens to be part of this globe and will not magically disappear just because politicians or $$$ look the other way. sequoia |
16733
From: ShakyD, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Landfill begins burying non-recyclable Wind Turbine Blades
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If the cost of dumping were to go high enough, alternatives (re-cycle, re-use, re-purpose ...) would begin to look more cost competitive. It is already happening in Germany and Norway where dumping of fiberglass into landfills is prohibited. But outright prohibition might be too traumatic for the industry. A disposal tax that gradually increases over time might be a better option to encourage the transition. Once the industry decides to seek alternatives for cost reduction reasons, they will have incentive to work to find ways to improve the affordability of the alternatives. "Necessity is the mother of invention." |
16734
From: Jeff/Lake Almanor,CA, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Build a recycled Wind Turbine Blade border wall. 200 ft high
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100 ft in the ground. Beats Cadillac's... |
16736
From: sequoia, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Build a recycled Wind Turbine Blade border wall. 200 ft high
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Hi Jeff, sounds like a grand proposal. Might actually be a beautiful sight. They could be painted by artists, Mexicans on the Mexican side, Americans on the American side, sequoia |
Responses:
[16737]
16737
From: Alan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Build a recycled Wind Turbine Blade border wall. 200 ft high
 Goats eat anything... |
Responses:
None
16730
From: sequoia, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Landfill begins burying non-recyclable Wind Turbine Blades
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Hi pamela, e outright amazing! Plow them under. Do they disappear that way? One could build new types of homes with these monster blades, resonating spaces for musicians, and veggie gardens. The blades would provide mass and structure for the walls and wind protection. sequoia |
Responses:
None
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