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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Energy & Infrastructure

Kaohsiung Earns Carbon Label for Recycled Construction Material

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Kaohsiung, Taiwan, has launched its first CLSM product made from incinerator bottom ash, earning a carbon label.
  • This initiative transforms waste into recycled aggregate for public construction projects.
  • The city aims to create a circular economy by processing and reusing its incineration byproducts.

Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is pioneering a circular economy model with its first Controlled Low-Strength Material (CLSM) product derived from recycled incinerator bottom ash. The environmental bureau has guided a local concrete company, Fenghe, in producing this CLSM, which has now obtained a carbon label, marking a significant achievement in sustainable construction materials.

Kaohsiung operates four incinerators, generating approximately 170,000 tons of bottom ash annually. Previously considered waste, this ash is now processed into recycled aggregate used in public works like road construction and backfill. The city has established a comprehensive ecosystem for managing these materials, achieving a 100% bottom ash treatment rate and a 97% recycled aggregate utilization rate last year.

Carbon labels are crucial for identifying low-carbon products and services and are essential for Scope 3 emissions accounting.

— Chang Jui-HuiThe Environmental Protection Bureau Director explained the importance of carbon labels in promoting sustainable practices and tracking emissions.

The carbon label, calculated using the ISO 14067 international standard, indicates that each cubic meter of this CLSM emits 194 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent. This quantifiable data allows construction units to compare the environmental benefits of CLSM with other materials, promoting the use of green procurement and low-carbon engineering practices.

Environmental Protection Bureau Director Chang Jui-Hui stated that carbon labels are crucial for identifying low-carbon products and services and are essential for Scope 3 emissions accounting. Kaohsiung has been guiding various industries, including the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit and the InterContinental Hotel, in obtaining carbon labels. The bureau aims to help industries build comprehensive databases to support consumer and downstream business decarbonization efforts and identify effective reduction strategies, ultimately working towards a sustainable city.

The goal is to help industries establish complete databases to guide consumer and downstream business decarbonization efforts and identify suitable carbon reduction strategies.

— Chang Jui-HuiThe director outlined the bureau's objective to foster a data-driven approach to emissions reduction across industries.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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