Outside
Caspe ,
pieces
of
tu bi e
blades
cut
th ough
we e
lowe ed
by
a
loade
i to
a
t e ch
fo
yea s.
Now,
what
they
a e
bei g
used
fo
i stead
of
bei g
bu ied
u de
the
g ou d,
is
to
make
ceme t
powde .
A d
this
t a sitio
is
wo th
oti g.The
Caspe
Regio al
La dfill
took
its
fi st
decommissio ed
blades
i
the
sp i g
of
2019.
By
the
followi g
Septembe
the
u i g
total
stood
at
1,124
blades,
a ivi g
f om
th ee
wi d
fa ms
i
the
su ou di g
cou t y.Each
o e
came
i
at
oughly
120
feet
a d
was
cut
i to
th ee
40-foot
le gths
befo e
it
could
be
moved
o
stacked.
The
smalle
sectio s
we e
the
ested
i side
the
la ge
o es,
which
is
the
o ly
way
to
stop
a
si gle
blade
swallowi g
a
u easo able
sha e
of
the
t e ch.
Eve
ested,
o e
blade
fills
about
44
cubic
ya ds,
o
oughly
th ee
ceme t
mixe
t ucks
wo th
of
space.Why
do
the
blades
have
to
be
cut
at
all?
Well,
a
blade
is
fib eglass
bo ded
with
epoxy,
e gi ee ed
to
flex
th ough
decades
of
sto m
loadi g
without
c acki g.
That
is
p ecisely
the
p ope ty
that
defeats
a
la dfill,
because
eve ythi g
o
a
tip
wo ks
by
c ushi g,
compacti g
o
sh eddi g
whateve
a ives.
Steel
gets
melted
dow
a d
coppe
gets
st ipped
out,
but
a
cu ed
composite
ca ot
be
u made
by
heat
i
a y
eco omic
way
at
all.
So
the
cutti g
happe s
out
whe e
the
tu bi e
stood,
usually
with
a
diamo d
wi e
saw
d agged
slowly
th ough
the
shell.
A
150-foot
blade
weighs
about
20,000
pou ds
eve
afte
it
has
bee
sectio ed,
which
is
why
the
t e ch
comes
befo e
the
ecycli g
pla t.
The
ive
tow
whe e
they
go
i stead
About
90
miles
o th
of
St
Louis
the e
is
a
old
Mississippi
Rive
tow
called
Louisia a
a d
blades
a ive
the e
daily.
They
come
i
f om
ea ly
eve y
state,
get
sh edded
dow
to
f agme ts,
a d
go
i to
ceme t.
The
pla t
has
u
close
to
2,000
blades
th ough
si ce
the
late
summe
of
2020,
a d
takes
i
oughly
250
mo e
eve y
mo th.The
easo
it
wo ks
is
pu ely
chemist y.
Mo e
tha
70
pe
ce t
of
a
blade
is
silica,
which
happe s
to
be
what
ceme t
is
made
f om
a yway.
Thus,
about
th ee-qua te s
of
each
blade
becomes
aw
mate ial,
a d
the
emai de
bu s
i
the
kil
i
place
of
coal.
A
b idge
of
blades
F om
bei g
bu ied
i
la dfill,
mixed
i
ceme t
a d
ow
used
as
a
b idge,
these
blades
have
had
quite
the
jou ey.
O
a
g ee way
i
Cou ty
Co k,
laid
alo g
a
old
ailway
bed,
two
decommissio ed
blades
we e
i stalled
as
a
pedest ia
b idge,
as
the
b idge
p oject
eco ded.
The
spa
is
modest,
a ou d
16
feet,
a d
the
blades
came
off
small
olde
machi es
athe
tha
the
gia ts
goi g
up
today.
It
was
the
seco d
i
the
wo ld,
the
fi st
havi g
go e
i
o
a
site
i
Pola d
a
few
mo ths
ea lie .A
blade
is
al eady
a
lo g
hollow
beam
built
to
ca y
be di g
loads,
which
is
most
of
what
a
footb idge
has
to
do,
as
the
pla t
epo ti g
o
the
wide
p oblem
sets
out.
Yet
to
a ive
Eve
with
these
uses,
it
is
yet
to
be
see
how
the
blades
that
will
be
a ivi g
i
the
futu e
will
be
ha dled.
Resea che s
put
the
wo ldwide
total
at
oughly
43
millio
to s
of
blade
mate ial
disca ded
by
the
middle
of
this
ce tu y.
Agai st
that,
a
few
thousa d
blades
i
a
t e ch
a d
a
few
thousa d
mo e
th ough
a
kil
is
a
sta t
athe
tha
a
solutio .I te esti gly,
the
ewest
blades
a e
bei g
desig ed
fo
the
e d
of
thei
wo ki g
life
athe
tha
o ly
fo
the
wi d.
Blades
built
to
come
apa t
chemically
a e
al eady
tu i g
o
eal
machi es,
which
cha ges
the
a ithmetic
thi ty
yea s
out.
U til
the ,
t e ches,
kil s
a d
b idges
a e
whe e
the
blades
will
be
cutti g
th ough.
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