# So, why can't windmill blades be recycled? And why do they wear out in the first place? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201 "2020-01-10T03:04:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/21 "2020-01-10T17:23:53Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Also to add : Although the blades are spinning slowly, due to the size of the blades the tip of the blade is almost at the speed of sound (Mach 1). This high speed results in much higher damage. I’ve seen cites for the speed of the tips around 180 mph at top speed, nowhere near the speed of sound. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/22 "2020-01-10T17:29:23Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Are windmill blades standardized in shape and size? No. ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/23 "2020-01-10T17:46:42Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > They don’t melt like a thermoplastic, so it’d be impractical to separate it from the reinforcing glass or carbon fibers. the best you could probably do is shred it and use the pieces for filler for something. I kind of covered this earlier, but autocorrect messed things up. You can bake composite parts at high temperature to burn off the resin. This leaves just the fibers, but it’s pretty energy intensive. Right now, shredding is the best option, just as you suggest. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/24 "2020-01-10T18:00:09Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > No. Right. Also, there just aren’t enough of them and they’re too spread out to develop re-use infrastructure. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/25 "2020-01-10T18:29:02Z")
Are airplane wings made similarly? How are those disposed of and how often do they need replaced? ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/26 "2020-01-11T19:37:11Z")
I should note that AIUI most blades aren’t wearing out; they’re being landfilled after decommissioning. No idea re: the above airplane question. I’m assuming aluminum, with some movement to carbon fiber composite. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/27 "2020-01-11T20:16:12Z")
Stress causes strain. Strain causes weakness and failure. Composites do not generally recycle well. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/28 "2020-01-11T20:38:01Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Right. Also, there just aren’t enough of them and they’re too spread out to develop re-use infrastructure. I visualize big windfarms I’ve seen in California foothills and passes. Am I wrong to expect them to discard many fairly similar blades? Could those blades fit as structural pieces in not-too-distant low-cost housing? I imagine blades bolted together, wrapped with chicken wire / hardware cloth, and squirted full of concrete for fireproof panels. Is this feasible? ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/29 "2020-01-11T21:36:27Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Stress causes strain. Strain causes weakness and failure. That’s not true. Fatigue can cause failure, but not all strain causes fatigue. What’s more, not all fatigue leads to failure. > [@Squink](#): > > Composites do not generally recycle well. Ok; yeah, that’s pretty much true as stated. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/30 "2020-01-12T02:02:03Z")
> [@EdelweissPirate](#): > > not all strain causes fatigue. That depends on where one took statics and mechanics of materials. I strongly suspect we are drawing lines in different places. I tend not to think about such things as the entropy driven reversible strain in rubber bands, and more about irreversible strains in wood and metal. You are correct in pointing out that not all strain is irreversible, but I expect reversibility is limited in stiff structures such as windmiil blades. Bend too far, and you will get damage. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/31 "2020-01-12T04:28:26Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > I visualize big windfarms I’ve seen in California foothills and passes. Am I wrong to expect them to discard many fairly similar blades? Could those blades fit as structural pieces in not-too-distant low-cost housing? I imagine blades bolted together, wrapped with chicken wire / hardware cloth, and squirted full of concrete for fireproof panels. Is this feasible? Many tasks are technically feasible but not economically so. I’m not equipped to run an actual technoeconomic analysis here. But there are only some 60k turbines in the US. If those are evenly spaced temporally (they aren’t), and if they last 20 years (many are older), then we’re only taking down ~3k per year. Spread out over multiple states. The biggest wind farm I know of in the US (Alta, in Tehachapi, CA) only has like 200 turbines. They didn’t go up all at once. And they won’t come down all at once. I think they put up five the first year. And then there’s the question about whether the material is even safe and suitable for housing, which I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/32 "2020-01-12T04:53:32Z")
Expanding on this, ~9k blades at, say, 8 tons each, is a piddling 70 thousand tons per year into landfills. Remember “green” didn’t necessarily mean devoid of all impact. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/33 "2020-01-12T07:31:58Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > The biggest wind farm I know of in the US (Alta, in Tehachapi, CA) only has like 200 turbines. According to [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehachapi_Pass_wind_farm), you’re off by a factor of 17: > [@](#): > > The Tehachapi Pass wind farm is one of the first large-scale wind farms installed in the U.S., with around 710 megawatts (950,000 hp) produced by about 3400 wind turbines. There’s also a “wind farm” in Altamount Pass CA with close to 5000 turbines. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/34 "2020-01-12T07:37:56Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Could those blades fit as structural pieces in not-too-distant low-cost housing? I imagine blades bolted together, wrapped with chicken wire / hardware cloth, and squirted full of concrete for fireproof panels. You’re describing a use that gives a very low value to used blades - probably a lot lower than the cost of transporting them. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/35 "2020-01-12T13:16:26Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > According to [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehachapi_Pass_wind_farm), you’re off by a factor of 17: > > There’s also a “wind farm” in Altamount Pass CA with close to 5000 turbines. So I am. It’s still not much material to work with. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/36 "2020-01-12T15:25:26Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I should note that AIUI most blades aren’t wearing out; they’re being landfilled after decommissioning. > > No idea re: the above airplane question. I’m assuming aluminum, with some movement to carbon fiber composite. Yes that’s what I have found out also. Also add wind power scales up nicely with size so still serviceable older wind plants which are smaller, are more economical to scrap and replace with larger turbines then continue the maintenance on. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/37 "2020-01-12T15:48:54Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Comparing Wind power to Coal Power is apples and oranges to a certain extent. Wind mostly blows in the night (when power demand is lower) for many states. Well yes and no. It does blow more steady but only till you are a ‘few hundred feet’ above ground, otherwise nights are quite still. Considering the largest of wind turbines are centered about 200 ft up and the wing can reach just over 300 feet, much of the wind turbine actually sits at night in the still air zone. This should be different if the turbine is on a hilltop. Cites: > **[Ask Tom: Why does wind speed increase from morning to afternoon?](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/12/19/ask-tom-why-does-wind-speed-increase-from-morning-to-afternoon/)** > > Dear Tom, Why does the wind speed increase from morning to afternoon? — Kate Dudley Dear Kate, The increase of wind speed from early morning into the day is related to the warming of the air.… > **[National Wind Watch | Size of Industrial Wind Turbines](https://www.wind-watch.org/faq-size.php)** > > FAQ: Industrial Wind Turbine Sizes > [@](#): > > Wind is certainly a great renewable energy source, but with current technology (and to a foreseeable future), it requires energy demand to be fulfilled by FOSSIL fuels viz-a-viz coal and oil and gas, when wind is not producing… ‘(and to a foreseeable future)’, something so controversial somehow slipped in as fact Yes right now we are mainly using fossil fuels in place of energy storage, and that means plant redundancy or needing both types of plants including full capacity fossil fuel plants. So no savings in plant construction. Or is there? Normally when one think of this they say we still need the total fossil fuel capacity, but they fail to realise the savings from not having to build up excess renewable plants. By having some of our renewables covered by fossil fuels that means we don’t have to build renewable plants and energy storage solutions. Don’t get me wrong renewables are great and compete nicely or even cheaper than fossil fuel plants. But only to a point, once one has to build to first: produce excess power and second: storage solutions for that power renewables are in general not cost effective compared to burning fossils to fill in the gaps (though pumped hydro is cost effective). Though new solutions for these short comings are being researched and can be expected. So yes we are leaning on fossils for now and still need them, but that is a transition, after which we can start reducing the fossil fuel plants in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/38 "2020-01-12T17:03:38Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Right. Also, there just aren’t enough of them and they’re too spread out to develop re-use infrastructure. That seems like the real issue. The NPR article says 720,000 tons over the next 20 years. So, spread evenly, that would be 36,000 tons annually (I know it won’t actually work like that). New York City produces 8,000,000 tons of trash annually. It’s not as though we’re going to be neck-deep in old turbine blades. However, they’re inconveniently sized and located, making them a hassle to move around and put somewhere. If they were all in one space it might be feasible to recycle, refurbish or reuse them but they’re not. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/39 "2020-01-12T22:43:26Z")
Seems like if you had 7 or 8 of the big ones. you could figure out how to build a house out of them. It’d be funky looking, but no more so than the semi-trailer or Coke bottle houses. No one would confuse it for a [UFO house](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ufo+house&t=ffsb&iax=images&ia=images) or a [Buckminster Fuller dome house](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=buckminster+fuller+dome+house&t=ffsb&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images). ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201/40 "2020-01-12T23:10:04Z")
If you want your house to bend in the wind, sure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-cant-windmill-blades-be-recycled-and-why-do-they-wear-out-in-the-first-place/846201.md?page=3)