ECOVE Provides High Value and Practical Total Solution to Circular Economy

Designed with a total solution to the circular economy in mind, Tainan Science Park Resource Recycling Center was built by CTCI in 2003 and commissioned to ECOVE by Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau to operate until today. The types of waste Tainan Science Park produce are diverse and complex including biomedical, solid, sludge, and waste solvents. 

ECOVE expertise plays a core role in managing energy from waste which resources are integrated to provide a “Total Solution” for the transportation, incineration, solidification, physical-chemical treatment, and landfill of industrial waste in the campus. The service helps government and manufacturers to reduce transportation and management costs. 

Continuing the aforementioned achievements and experience, ECOVE cooperates with advanced manufacturers as before to participate in relevant domestic processing facilities constructions. Take the Taoyuan City Biomass Energy Center BOT case, which was won by JV team of CTCI and Evergreen Group, as an example, we hope to effectively implement the concept of “circular economy” and develop renewable energy so our ideal of zero-waste resource reuse, green building, environmental conservation, and sustainable development can be achieved.

Figure1. The illustration of Taoyuan City Biomass Energy Center.

ECOVE Expands Circular Economy Business

As the global population increases, a large amount of waste and greenhouse gases are generated during the rapid development of the industry, causing global warming and climate change problems, which seriously affect human survival. The traditional linear economy (take, make, use, and waste) is gradually being abandoned. The world is beginning to embrace the concept of the circular economy with resources recycling and green energy becoming the mainstream policy; achieving zero waste and protecting the environment is also becoming a goal.

In view of this, various organizations or groups around the world have advocated circular economy. Under the guidance of advanced countries such as Europe, the United States, and Japan,  relevant policies had been put forward successively. Taiwan, as a member of the global village, will certainly not be absent. The EPA actively develops forward-looking waste disposal policies in accordance with the above guidelines. The central and local governments work together to promote the aforementioned policies and significantly improve the efficiency of waste energy recycling. 

Over the past 20 years, under the leadership and guidance of the government, Taiwan has achieved fruitful results. In 2017, the national resource recovery rate has reached 52.51%. If large waste and kitchen waste are included, the garbage recovery rate rises to as high as 60.13%. The implementation of circular economy had helped Taiwan acquire excellent reputation internationally. 

ECOVE is actively participating in the role of “The most reliable provider of industry-leading ‘resource cycling’ services”. We plan to gradually promote the idea and implement energy recovery, material recovery, and prolonging the life cycle.

Figure2. Business model and approach of circular economy envisioned by ECOVE.

ECOVE Provides Total Solution to Handle Tainan Science Park Waste

In addition to doing a great job in waste management, ECOVE also followed Taiwan's footsteps in advancing circular economy. Take Tainan Park Resource Recycling Center (hereinafter referred to as the Center), the types of diverse and complex waste Tainan Park produce include biomedical, solid, sludge, and waste solvents. The design of the center utilizes the concept of circular economy and is the only self-sufficient comprehensive treatment plant in all science parks nationally. The Center collects wastes at the collection point; the treatment process integrates different treatment mechanisms and technologies such as incineration, solidification, materialization, and burial. Therefore, it is necessary to fully understand the characteristics of waste before being properly disposed of. 

In order to achieve good combustion efficiency of the fluidized bed incinerator, the waste needs to be crushed before being fed and then mixed with sludge and waste solvent to achieve resource regeneration. In the spirit of cherishing every resource and assisting the park to solve the problem of waste disposal, the Center also assists and guides the manufacturers in the park through promotion, information platform, and rewards programs. The details are as follows:


1. Promotion

• Promote the reuse of wastes in its own industrial field	
Provide counseling for the re-use of business wastes, especially for those who with low resource recovery ratios. Analytical stats are used to give guidance to improve the reuse of the entire business waste in the park. The reuse rate reached 85.86% in 2017, which equals the annual target.

• Continue to advocate or counsel the business under the jurisdiction	
By guiding the park business and establishing a resource recycling and reuse information webpage, the company actively promotes the source reduction measures and reduces the impact of production behavior and subsequent waste disposal to the environment. The 2017 source reduction measures include reducing the use of chemicals per unit of product, prolonging the number of uses of chemicals, recycling of raw materials, returning to the original process and recycling of packaging materials.

• Organize Recycling Technology and Regulations Promotion Conference	
In 2017, we held a reuse technology achievement sharing meeting and a demonstration conference for those interested in participating. Seminars of circular economy policies were also held to promote waste management and resources reuse in the park. The activities helped to introduce circular economy concepts to reduce the environmental impact in development activities. They also strengthened waste management to comply with current regulations, promoted waste reduction, and improved resource reuse.

• Provide campus manufacturers waste treatment and resource consulting services	
By providing a wide range of counseling channels such as on-site help, telephone calls, faxes, and e-mails, the total number of related consulting services in 2017 reached 720, which heightened the willingness of the park manufacturers to promote waste disposal and resource utilization.

2. Information platform
The Waste Management Information Platform of the Park is divided into "Business Area" and "Information Provision". The platform serves as an interactive medium for the management of the waste management of the authority and the park. The information is open and transparent and could help the competent authority in making policy decisions. The source of information could become the best boost to promoting and upgrading the circular economy.

3. Rewards programs
The wastes from the park need to be classified before being disposed of by the Center. The wastes that can be recycled or economically reused are delivered to the recycling agency for disposal. In addition, the household wastes produced by the employees are disposed of using the government's four-in-one recycling policy to enforce environmental protection. The park businesses helped the Center maintain a proper rate of the equipment by jointly classifying wastes. Not only are they rewarded with 0.9 discounts according to the classification rate, but they also helped to achieve resources saving.

The Epochal Integrated Center for Waste Treatment: Taoyuan Biomass Energy Center

With the development of science and technology, waste treatment technology has been updated year by year with the concept of circular economy. CTCI and ECOVE continue to cooperate with advanced manufacturers. In addition to carrying on the successful experience from Tainan Park Resource Recycling Center, we will continue to participate in the establishment of relevant domestic processing facilities. 

For example, the company has won the BOT case of the Taoyuan Municipal Government Biomass Energy Center in conjunction with the world-renowned  Evergreen Group. In addition to properly handling waste, we hope to convert biomass components into energy and create practical applications of economic, social, environmental protection, and green energy. We hope to effectively implement the concept of “circular economy” and develop renewable energy so our ideal of zero-waste resource reuse, green building, environmental conservation, and sustainable development can be achieved.

Figure 3. The schematic of the epoch-making integrated center for waste treatment.

• Recycle: In terms of general waste disposal, it is planned to effectively recover iron and non-ferrous metal resources and homogenize waste by pre-treatment system. This will effectively reduce pollution and increase calorific value, and should allow the plant to become the demonstration of most efficient power generation plant in Taiwan. In terms of kitchen waste treatment, high-efficiency biogas power generation equipment is installed to effectively increase energy recovery. Another solar power generation facility is set up for diversification to ensure the proper use of resources.
• Reuse: Derivative waste (bottom ash, fly ash, biogas residue, and biogas slurry) generated by the Biomass Energy Center are recycled for full cycle reuse. In addition to cooperating with re-use manufacturers in the future, research will be conducted through industry-university cooperation model to develop various recycling technologies which will re-form raw materials or components, reintroducing them to the production chain or the ecological cycle as nutrients.
• Reduction: Advanced technology from Europe and Japan using high-standard equipment and resource management concepts will be introduced to make the emission standards meet the EU standards. We intend to become the first demonstration plant in Taiwan that meets the EU operating standards with the lowest emission concentration, effectively reducing the fly ash and bottom ash. We aim to reduce pollution and create a friendly environment.
• In addition to supporting the circular economy and the establishment of the Biomass Energy Center, we will adhere to corporate social responsibility. In the future, on top of the good interaction between the neighbors locally, the Biomass Energy Center will promote environmental conservation and educate about environmental issues. The courses include the significance of environmental protection and the implementation of a sustainable environment. The diverse courses will be combined with humanities, geography, ecological characteristics, integration of renewable energy features, and friendly public space; details are shown below. We expect the people to learn about the concept of "circular economy" through these courses.

Figure 4. The Taoyuan Biomass Energy Center will build a friendly and harmonious public space, and offer a favorable platform for the city’s owners.

Becoming the Most Reliable Provider of Industry-leading Resource Cycling Services

Looking into the future, with the rapid development of human civilization in recent years, the consumption of resources is increasing. In 2010, 65 billion tons of raw materials entered the economic system. It is expected to increase to 82 billion tons in 2020. This trend has triggered us to reflect on the fact that the mode of economic activity must be changed. Therefore, we ought to turn to the principle of sustainable use of resources and zero waste. 

The concept of "circular economy" is the supreme principle of sustainable development. However, although the promotion of circular economy is urgent, there are no shortcuts. We need a plan that is stable and sustainable. With winning experience, ECOVE can contribute to the circular economy in different fields and uphold the core value of “every resource counts”. Going step by step and believing in dreams, our dedication shall make us “The most reliable provider of industry-leading ‘resource cycling’ services”.