Illegal retention of German wind turbine blades in Poland and the Czech Republic

Used wind turbine blades from Germany hit illegal landfills in countries specified as Czech Republic and Poland, which raises serious environmental and legal concerns – announced on Friday Die Welt.

Illegal shipments of waste – what do we know?

Recently, cases have been revealed in which utilized wind turbine blades from Germany are illegally stored in landfills in neighbouring countries specified as the Czech Republic and Poland. This problem is due to the difficulties in recycling these components, which are made from hard-to-process composite materials. In Germany, there are strict rules on waste disposal, leading any companies to search cheaper, albeit illegal, solutions abroad.

Czech Republic: night transport and intervention of services

An illegal landfill containing fragments of wind turbines and aircraft parts was discovered in the Czech Republic in Těchanov. The mayor of Jiříkova, Barbora Šišková, reported that 4 to 7 trucks of waste from Germany were sent to the erstwhile sawmill. The first transports arrived at night from 12 to 13 December, and another 8 January, prompting local authorities to call the police and customs services, which stopped 5 trucks.

Poland among the main victims of illegal practices

Similar problems were reported in Poland, where German waste is illegally stored. According to data collected by the NDR, between 2015 and 2020 the Polish authorities submitted around 58% of all requests for the return of illegally transported waste to Germany. Many of these wastes are hard to process materials, specified as wind turbine blades.

Why are turbine blades specified a challenge for recycling?

German wind turbine recycling companies face the challenge of the cost and complexity of the disposal process. Turbine shovels are made of composite materials that are hard to process. Germany has strict rules on the retention of specified waste, which prompts any companies to search alternative, frequently illegal, methods of disposal abroad.

Need for changes in waste management

Experts emphasise the request to introduce more effective methods of recycling of wind turbine blades and to strengthen control over cross-border shipments of waste. This is the only way to prevent further contamination and violations of global government on waste management.