Wind turbine recycling versus regulatory gaps
9 July 2025 • Autor: Kancelaria Brysiewicz Bokina i Wspólnicy
Many investors are faced with the problem of disposing of worn-out blades, which, due to the fact that they are manufactured from composite materials, are the most difficult to recycle component of wind turbines. As it turns out, Poland currently lacks adequate legal regulations that would allow clear categorisation of this type of waste and propose an optimal model for its processing. The deepening problem is discussed in the article ‘The second life of wind turbines’ in the latest Energetyka Cieplna i Zawodowa by mec Jan Sakławski and mec Karolina Wcisło-Karczewska.
Legislation in most European countries regulates the management of waste with a composite structure, such as wind turbine blades. In our backyard, on the other hand, from the point of view of the Polish Waste Act, they do not have their own waste category. Hence, in practice, the investor makes his or her own choice as to the categorisation of waste,” alert Jan Sakławski and Karolina Wcisło-Karczewska.
At the moment, as a country we have no strategy developed for the problem of worn-out wind turbines, which is growing year by year. In fact, the issue is more urgent than it may seem. For while Poland is in fact only now entering the phase of exploitation of the first generation of such power plants, the problem is already much more acute in neighbouring countries. The lack of regulations may result in Polish landfills being flooded with used windmill components from other countries.
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