Reuse of the Materials Recycled from Renewable Resources in the Civil Engineering: Status, Achievements and Government’s Initiatives in Taiwan

Abstract

Growing concerns about the circular economy and sustainable waste management for civil applications of non-hazardous mineral industrial waste have increased in recent years. Therefore, this study presents a trend analysis of industrial waste generation and treatment during the years of 2010–2020, and focused on promotion policies and regulatory measures for mandatory renewable resources from industrial sources in Taiwan, including reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) material, water-quenched blast furnace slag, and ilmenite chlorination furnace slag. According to the official database of the online reported statistics during the period of 2010–2020, approximately three million metric tons per year of renewable resources were totally reused in civil engineering or related cement products, reflecting a balanced supply chain in the domestic market. Among these, water-quenched blast furnace slag accounted for about 90% (about 2.7 million metric tons) in Taiwan. Currently, the legislative framework of sustainable waste management in Taiwan is based on the Waste Management Act and the Resource Recycling Act, but there are some problems with them. In order to effectively reduce environmental loadings and conserve natural resources to mitigate climate change, some recommendations are addressed from different points of view.