Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

The challenge of recycling fast-growing fibre-reinforced polymer waste

Fibre-reinforced polymers are widely used — and waste is growing fast. Appropriate recycling technologies should be purposefully selected to reintegrate fibre-reinforced polymer waste into sustainable industries, yield high-quality industrial products and promote the broader recycling of fibre-reinforced polymers.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. JEC Observer Overview of the global composites market 2022–2027 (JEC Observer, 2023).

  2. Das, S. Life cycle assessment of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 16, 268–282 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Khalil, Y. F. Eco-efficient lightweight carbon-fiber reinforced polymer for environmentally greener commercial aviation industry. Sustain. Prod. Consum. 12, 16–26 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Yang, D. Y., Frangopol, D. M., & Teng, J.-G. Probabilistic life-cycle optimization of durability-enhancing maintenance actions: application to FRP strengthening planning. Eng. Struct. 188, 340–349 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Liu, P. & Barlow, C. Y. Wind turbine blade waste in 2050. Waste Manag. 62, 229–240 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Li, H. et al. Fiber-reinforced polymer waste in the construction industry: a review. Environ. Chem. Lett. 22, 2777–2844 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. May, D., Goergen, C. & Friedrich, K. Multifunctionality of polymer composites based on recycled carbon fibers: a review. Adv. Ind. Eng. Polym. Res. 4, 70–81 (2021).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Pickering, S. J. Recycling technologies for thermoset composite materials — current status. Composites Part A 37, 1206–1215 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Ahrens, A. et al. Catalytic disconnection of C–O bonds in epoxy resins and composites. Nature 617, 730–737 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Liu, Y. et al. Closed-loop chemical recycling of thermosetting polymers and their applications: a review. Green Chem. 24, 5691–5708 (2022).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Huanyu Li, Huabo Duan or Jian Yang.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, H., Zhang, N., Wang, L. et al. The challenge of recycling fast-growing fibre-reinforced polymer waste. Nat Rev Mater 10, 81–82 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00762-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00762-2

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing