Turbine blades from Wyoming landfill find new use in cement production and a footbridge

Over a thousand decommissioned wind turbine blades stored in a trench at Casper Regional Landfill are now being shredded for cement feedstock, while two blades have been repurposed as a pedestrian bridge in Ireland.

Since spring 2019, Casper Regional Landfill has stored decommissioned wind turbine blades, cutting each roughly 120-foot blade into three 40-foot sections before lowering them into a trench; the total now stands at 1,124 blades from three nearby farms. The fiberglass-epoxy composites resist traditional landfill compaction, prompting their transport to a plant about 90 miles north of St. Louis, where they are shredded and incorporated into cement, with about three-quarters of each blade serving as silica feedstock and the rest combusted in the kiln.

Each blade occupies roughly 44 cubic yards, equivalent to three cement-mixer trucks. In a separate reuse effort, two older blades were installed as a modest 16-foot pedestrian bridge along a former railway in County Cork, Ireland, the second such structure globally. Researchers estimate that worldwide blade waste could reach 43 million tons by mid-century, making these recycling and repurposing projects early steps toward managing future disposal. New blade designs aim for easier chemical disassembly, but until then, trenches, kilns, and bridge projects remain the primary pathways for retired blades.