An Australian company has come up with a novel use for decommissioned wind turbine blades: a component in a more sustainable line of surfboards.
New Atlas reported that Draft Surf is teaming up with energy company Accionia to give old blades a new lease of life on the waves of the Gold Coast. The blade came from a wind farm near Waubra, Victoria, about a two-hour drive from Melbourne. Professional surfer Josh Kerr unveiled the new board in a video posted on social media by Surfers For Climate. One 12-foot turbine blade weighing 661 pounds was enough for ten new surfboards.
The joint venture solves two problems at once. The first is making the production of surfboards more sustainable. Traditional boards tend to be made from either polyurethane or expanded polystyrene, which, as petroleum-based materials, contribute to planet-heating pollution and the ever-growing problem of microplastic pollution. The materials don’t degrade naturally, so they will ultimately end up clogging up landfills.
The second issue comes from the wind turbines themselves. To be clear, the environmental cost of manufacture, installation, and removal is all factored into the process despite persistent misinformation to the contrary. Most turbines reach that environmental “break-even point” after five or six months. Wind turbines produce clean energy for the vast majority of their 20-to 30-year lifespan.
Still, those turbine blades are built to withstand the elements, so they last a lot longer than the machines they power. This leads to the problem of what to do next, and there have been a host of interesting applications from asphalt to footwear. There’s still a little tinkering to go with the design before you’ll find the boards in stores, but there’s a great deal of promise in the idea.
Upcycling is a creative way to give waste products a second life, and it can be done with all kinds of everyday items. Whether it’s repurposing unwanted clothes or furniture, it means saving money and producing less waste.
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