It’s a common right wing/climate denier/faux concern troll line of attack against wind and solar that the materials can’t be recycled. What shows that these concern trolls are nothing more than that is that they don’t say the same things about the CO2 they’re creating.

Oh, just in case someone wants to whine about a fake thing - the cobalt that is in their phone/laptop batteries ARE NOT in power grid batteries. And are not in a majority of car batteries these days either.

Edit - solar modules will be 100% recyclableas well via multiple paths.

The following submission statement was provided by /u/ForHidingSquirrels:

It’s a common right wing/climate denier/faux concern troll line of attack against wind and solar that the materials can’t be recycled. What shows that these concern trolls are nothing more than that is that they don’t say the same things about the CO2 they’re creating.

Oh, just in case someone wants to whine about a fake thing - the cobalt that is in their phone/laptop batteries ARE NOT in power grid batteries. And are not in a majority of car batteries these days either.

Edit - solar modules will be 100% recyclableas well via multiple paths.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/10xvzns/all_wind_turbine_blades_recyclable_with_new/j7uh9wo/

This is good news. I would love e to see more wind power across the plains.

I think recycling and reusing parts from renewable energy sources will be one of the biggest challenges, that a lot of people aren't thinking about right now.

Should also post on /r/circular_economy and /r/renewableenergy

How much energy and waste does the ‘chemical process’ use/create?

Are the chemicals difficult to extract, synthesise and dispose of? Where would be appropriate for this to take place, would turbine blades have to be transported across vast distances thus creating more pollution?

[deleted]

Indeed, this both counters that BS and gives the benefit of affordability. Double win for renewable energy!

[removed]

What? Nom that post has valid concerns about the chemical process it takes to repurpose them. The article doesn't go into that information and it is a valid and important question to ask.

Once the chemical reaction completes, is the solvent broken back into something usable? Or is it stored in drums and discarded.

What are the potential dangers to the environment? The water supply? Does the benefit of doing the process outweigh that impact?

You're calling out someone for asking questions instead of actually attempting to answer them. Plastics have been a recycling problem for a very long time. The process is inefficient and expensive -- usually resulting in just as much waste and pollution.. but hey we all get to feel good for saving the planet!.. right?

As written, this looks like a great prospect. Using solvents to break epoxy into a usable base is a great idea. There's also a line though about how you can't always trust something when it's too good to be true.

I understand sensitivity to climate denier tactics, but these are all very valid questions.

Also how nasty is this chemical process that dissolves something like epoxy? And what does this process cost? It could be a game changer for a lot of industries if it is inexpensive and safe.

[removed]

Wait till the batteries achieve this milestone. Better yet, a design that utilizes a simpler chemistry accompanied with scalability.

Up until this brand new discovery that has been being worked on over the last decade the crazy people you speak of were 100% correct. This is great news but the issues people were previously worried about was real until this new discovery.

When you dismiss proponents based on newly discovered tech that was not available when the proponents made their concerns heard you take away from your credibility. Let's pull your head out of your ass and critically think for a moment. If what they said was true how were they trolls? You're the only troll I see here

You are definitely a troll

While I agree with your first part I have to say this discovery proves we are thinking about it and are concerned

[deleted]

[deleted]