Wind turbines are still made of harmful plastic
Letter to the editor | Ocean City Today | Printed 10/01/2021 | /www.oceancitytoday.com
Letter to the editor | Ocean City Today | Printed 10/01/2021 | /www.oceancitytoday.com
In the ’60s, the idea was to save the rain forest, so we switched from wood to plastic (vinyl siding & laminated flooring).
Today our food comes wrapped in it, our cars are built with it, and we wear clothes made of it. After all plastic is made to last and it does.
Every step of its lifecycle, plastic creates greenhouse gas emissions. The world now produces 380 million tons of plastic every year.
Public hearings are scheduled on installing up to 173 wind turbines off shore of Ocean City. These turbines have plastic components: the plastic coating around the copper wires and the turbine blades are made of polymer composite materials.
Life cycle of wind turbines are 20 to 25 years. The US currently has three landfills that accept these 14 to 19 ton wind turbine blades – Lake Mills, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Casper, Wyoming.
Is Ocean City landfill next?
At what point do we say enough is enough when it comes to the use of plastic!
Margaret Pillas
Ocean City
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/10/01/wind-turbines-are-still-made-of-harmful-plastic/