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Wind turbines recycled as bike shelters

Wind turbine blades being recycled as bike shelters... is this Sustainability Level 1000?!

But seriously, the increasing adoption of renewable energy technologies is creating a problem around disposal of decommissioned equipment after reaching end-of-life.

In Denmark, emission-reducing wind turbines are used to meet 40 per cent of  energy requirements. But as an early adopter of wind power, the country is also facing a problem of discarded wind turbine blades, which typically have a lifespan of 20-25 years.

With landfill and incineration presenting environmental problems, recycling seems the only sustainable way forward.

So now a company called Re-Wind Network, assigned by the Danish government to recycle wind turbine blades, is repurposing the giant structures into various architectural elements, including bike shelters. 

The company recently installed wind turbine blades in the Danish port of Aalborg to create protective bike shelters, with the shape of the blade providing a canopy for the bike parking.

Similarly, Rotterdam in The Netherlands has a 1,200-square-metre children's playground featuring a slide tower, tunnels, ramps and slides made from decommissioned rotor blades.

Pretty cool, huh?