There were four major tasks for the project:
1.To establish the sustainable materials management (SMM) institution and performance indicator system.
(1)To promote the SMM from the perspective of an integrated national strategy, the 2014 SMM project focuse on two main green themes in the National Cyclic Resources Strategic Planning. The green themes were the green design and production, and the green consumption and trade strategies. The work completed include: to collect information of the regulations and public policies related to the SMM, to articulate the significant international issues and trend to the domestic SMM planning, and to propose the strategic planning for future development. The results and suggestions of the 2013 SMM Planning project was reviewed and the management scope was acknowledged. The deficiencies in current SMM management measures and policies was discussed in detail noted. In the final report, the project task force proposed the main SMM promotion strategies and the ten-year roadmap. Based on the short-term goals in the roadmap, the draft Resource Efficiency Promotion Plan was proposed, in which objectives, strategies, measures, coordination, and promotion practices were planned. The proposal will be used as the basis for inter-departmental discussion in the future.
(2)The data necessary for the calculation of performance indicators were collected based on the EU economy-wide material flow accounts (EW-MFA) method. The data included four domestic material statistics (domestic extraction and import), domestic pollution emissions statistics (air, water, waste, etc.), and the amount of recycled materials. There were seven performance indicators calculated using the domestic material data. The final report detailed the scope, the items, and the conversion formulae for the calculation of the performance indicators.
2.To plan and establish the national integrated cyclic resource database
(1)Databases from several government agencies, including the industrial waste control center of the EPA, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the Customs Administration, the Council of Agriculture, the Bureau of Energy, and the Bureau of Mines, were integrated into a cyclic resource data warehouse to support end user application systems. A resource data transformation methodology was established for various material flow applications, including material classification and sectoral classification. The data interchange specification was developed for automatic operation of periodic update of databases drawn from various external government agencies.
(2)A national indicator, trend analysis, and information display prototype system was established, which contained the material, the industry, the waste resources, and the secondary material resources functional modules. The system provides functions to analyze the inter-departmental resource information. Users can use the system to analyze the material efficiency of different industrial sectors, and to detect obstacles in material flow. In addition to statistical analysis, the system provides linked material network analysis and scenario simulation design. The system uses coal ash and furnace slag to demonstrate the national linked material influence as the use/output interrelation changes. The system can be applied as a decision-making supporting model, which functions the resource monitoring and the early warning system. In addition, the prototype system demonstrates functions in data quality assurance and control using sample data from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, and the Bureau of Energy.
(3)The project completed updating the 2013 national resources industry relational table, establishing environmental input/output model, and analyzing resources statistics. The national resources industry relational table is the core of the database. The main applications includes the general economic input/output model, the development of resource analysis tools, and the expansion of national resources industry relational table to provide information on resource management at the national and the industry levels. The information is critical to analyze the material flow in supply chain and the interrelationship between the upstream and downstream industries, and used to increase resource efficiency. The resource table can be used to identify the input/output characteristics of various industries, and to produce material flow analysis display and charts, and to be applied in web visualization. Through the analysis of environmental input/output analysis, the interrelationship between materials and industries can be analyzed. The final results was synthesize from three perspectives: the individual sectoral perspective, the supply chain perspective, and the inter-supply-chain perspective. The material management opportunities and practical measures will be researched in more detail in the future.
(4)The timetable for establishing application systems and prototypes were planned for each year from 2015 to 2017 to meet the objectives and functional requirements of the Cyclic Resource Use Promotion Project. On the premises of maximizing resource efficiency and minimizing environmental impact, the ten-year planning of establishing the integrated database and system was divided into the indicator trend system, the resource tracking system, and the early warning forecast system. The systems will be applied to understand the current resource status and to identify critical issues in improving resource efficiency.
3.To complete researching resource efficiency for critical materials, and proposing recycling quality specifications.
(1)There were forty recycling institutions interviewed for critical materials research. Through the interview, the recycling operation was documented and analyzed, and four resource efficiency performance indicators were calculated based on collected data. Improvement measures were suggested for individual institution regarding the material management operation, such as the material procurement, the material check upon acceptance, the identification and labeling of materials. The disposal of disqualified materials, and the accounting and inventorying of materials.
(2)Improvement suggestions were provided regarding the non-conformance or deficiencies in meeting regulatory demands during recycling operation. The necessary improvements included the confirmation of the regulatory conformance of the industrial waste sources, the documentation of waste category in the waste clearing plan, the confirmation of the regulatory conformance of the clearing method and disposal output of scraps, and updating the recycling product basic information based on practical operation.
(3)There were two secondary materials researched in details regarding the current market viability and the material quality specifications. The contents of the research report include the definition of terms, the source and production process of secondary materials, the market viability of secondary materials, the quality management of secondary materials processed in the recycling institutions, and the quality specifications of secondary materials suggested by the project team. The suggested specifications included secondary materials to be used as resources and the quality specifications, the quality control mechanism, and other necessary regulations.
4.The 3rd SMM international conference and administrative support
(1)The 3rd SMM international conference and related activities were held in Taipei in October, 2014. There were five invited government representatives coming from different countries to participate in the conference. The conference was open to the all to participate, and the participants included representatives from the government agencies, the academics, the industries, the NGO’s, and the concerned public as well. The objectives of the conference were to exchange information and experiences with various international representatives and to promote the SMM approach and practices in Taiwan.
(2)The key performance indicators were established in the early stage of the project operation to audit and evaluate the project results.
(3)A stationed staff was recruited to meet the requirements of the RFP. Candidates were interviewed by the EPA personnel and approved. The responsibilities of the stationed staff were assigned by the EPA to assist the completion of the project.
