Taiwan imports 70% of its raw materials, and manufacturing-related carbon emissions account for 45%. To strengthen resource recycling and enhance industrial resilience, at a forum hosted by the Environmental Protection Administration on the 30th of last month, UMC Senior Director Lai Huairen suggested the government proactively connect with industry through AI technology, helping them identify potential waste resource conversions and reducing the cost of finding partners.
Taiwan Cement uses various alternative fuels, including leucaena, to transform waste into energy.
"Resource recycling and zero waste" is one of the 12 key strategies on the path to net zero. Lai Ying-ying, Director of the Environmental Protection Administration's Resource Recycling Office and Director of the Waste Management Division, stated that Taiwan relies on imports for 70% of its raw materials, and carbon emissions related to product manufacturing account for 45%. To reduce carbon emissions and improve resilience, a shift in thinking is necessary to create new circular business models that maximize resource recycling and minimize waste disposal.
The Environmental Protection Administration's Resource Recycling Office held a forum on the 30th titled "Resource Transformation Towards Sustainability," inviting companies to share how they are turning waste into resources. Lai Huai-ren, Senior Director of Risk Management and Safety and Environmental Protection at UMC, noted that UMC's "Circular Economy Resource Creation Center," scheduled to open in 2025, will not only be the first waste resource recovery R&D center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park but also a key indicator of circular symbiosis and transformation in Taiwan's industry, reducing waste by 15,000 tons annually.
Lü Ke-fu, Deputy General Manager of Taiwan Cement, stated that Taiwan Cement uses various alternative fuels to help address social environmental issues. On the 26th, the Hualien Forestry Bureau and the 9th River Bureau signed a "Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Resource Utilization of Invasive Alien Plants in Hualien" to assist in the eradication of Leucaena leucaena. Furthermore, Taiwan Cement's "DAKA Recycling Resource Utilization Center" is expected to begin trial operations in the third quarter, utilizing its existing cement rotary kiln and newly built gasifier to assist in the processing of Hualien's domestic waste, with a daily processing capacity of approximately 200 tons.
Reducing waste at the source: UMC suggests using AI to coordinate resource recycling.
Based on the responsibility of recycling management, the resource recycling network will integrate waste generators with upstream, midstream, and downstream recycling businesses to find ways to return waste to the manufacturing process or recycle it. However, EPA Director-General Chang Tzu-jing noted that recycled materials are often discarded due to their lack of competitiveness. In the future, he hopes to improve resource recycling capabilities by enforcing laws and regulations to enforce the proportion of recycled materials used and the reduction of raw materials used. Lai Huairen stated that finding resource recycling partners often consumes a lot of time and effort. He suggested that the EPA could use big data and AI technology to proactively recommend suitable matchmaking partners to assist industries in identifying various waste resource utilization opportunities, forming a resource recycling network or industrial chain, and accelerating the pace of resource recycling. In addition to end-of-life disposal, Lai Yingying explained that the EPA will promote digital product passports to provide consumers with product information, including product carbon footprint, repairability index, and the proportion of recycled materials used, to change consumer behavior at the source. The Repairability Index, which assesses the difficulty of repairing a product on a scale of 10, is intended for consumers to consider before purchasing, with the goal of extending the product's lifespan. A pilot program is expected to begin next week, with a review in October to determine whether it will be incorporated into law. ASUS Computer Vice President Feng Baolian noted that the wide variations in size and specifications of electronic products increase the difficulty of repairing them. ASUS is developing a reference design that will allow all new generations of electronic products, regardless of specification, to use the same components such as batteries and keyboards. This modularity will facilitate repair and recycling. Yeh Hui-ching, head of the Carbon Management Business Group at SinoPac Investment Holdings, noted that resource recycling and carbon reduction can also create business opportunities. The "reduction credit" (carbon credit) trading currently promoted by the Environmental Protection Administration is expected to usher in a new carbon management business model, furthering corporate carbon risk analysis and cost calculation, the assessment and design of carbon credit development plans, and the planning of carbon credit application models.
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/237103)
