Wind energy has a massive waste problem. New technologies may be a step closer to solving it

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https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/28/world/wind-turbine-recycling-climate-intl/index.html

By Laura Paddison, CNN. 

Excerpt: Wind turbines are built to last. Their tall bodies are topped with long fiberglass blades, some more than half a football field in length, made to withstand the harshest, windiest conditions. But this sturdiness brings a big problem: What to do with these blades when they reach the end of their lives. While about 90% of turbines are easily recyclable, their blades are not. They are made from fiberglass bound together with epoxy resin, a material so strong it is incredibly difficult and expensive to break down. Most blades end their lives in landfill or are incinerated. ...But in February, Danish wind company Vestas ...announced a “breakthrough solution” that would allow wind turbine blades to be recycled without needing to change their design or materials. ...the “newly discovered chemical technology” breaks down old blades in a liquid to produce high quality materials, which can eventually be used to make new blades, as well as components in other industries....

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