Taiwan Today

In response to environmental challenges, Taiwan companies are embracing circular economy design.

Visitors to New Taipei City’s Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital (FJCUH) were surprised to see a whole new ward pop up at the building in 2021 to address demand for inpatient care. Taipei City-headquartered MINIWIZ Co. created a Modular Adaptable Convertible (MAC) ward along circular economy design (CED) principles in partnership with FJCUH, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taipei-based Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI). The mobile system is engineered to quickly transform space into wards as varied as intensive care units and isolation rooms. It is a concept that can be used to relieve operational COVID-19 pandemic pressures and tackle the growing backlog of elective care as hospitals around the world urgently need extra bed capacity. This type of CED approach has been gaining traction in business and policy to address environmental threats while delivering economic benefits.
 

“The pandemic has brought significant challenges to many sectors including health care,” said Arthur Huang (黃智謙‬), founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of MINIWIZ. “We can use CED to solve problems while making positive social contributions.” The CEO explained that all MAC ceilings, joints and walls are made from recycled materials and the building kit is designed for easy transport and fast assembly.
 

Founded in 2005, MINIWIZ aims to promote sustainability by developing financially viable environmental, social and governance (ESG) solutions for businesses. MINIWIZ’s EcoARK was the world’s first fully functional, large-scale building made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Built in 2010 at Taipei Expo Park, it was designed to harness light and air and therefore minimize energy consumption. “EcoARK has lower carbon emissions and construction costs, making it a great alternative building,” Huang said. “It encourages the public to recycle PET bottles instead of throwing them away as they can see a practical application.” MINIWIZ patented its PET bottle building material Polli-Brick.
 

Creative Loops

The durable, translucent and insulating Polli-Brick is just one of MINIWIZ’s many patented products specially made from recycled and upcycled materials for its design projects. Its engineers convert post-consumer waste including electronics, glass, plastics and metals into over 1,200 sustainable construction, furnishing and consumer product materials. These include Ricefold, a polymer reinforced with rice nano silica; Regrind, a composite made of used Nike footwear and apparel; as well as materials created from e-waste such as motherboards and casings. Nine international Nike Lab stores, including those in London, Paris, Tokyo and New York, are outfitted with these upcycled materials. 
 

After intensive R&D in 2017, MINIWIZ developed TRASHPRESSO, an autonomous mobile recycling machine for plastics, which was followed in 2019 by an energy efficient mini TRASHPRESSO. The devices enable plastics to be washed, sorted, shredded, softened and molded into valuable materials and useful products and both were awarded a 2021 World Design Impact Prize by Canada-headquartered World Design Organization. “We’ve been proving that CED is the means to tackle climate change and other environmental problems,” Huang said. “Our business model is based on the three paradigms of reduce, reuse and recycle, and our goal is to transform consumers into recyclers.” 
 

For New Taipei City-based REnato Lab (RL), using fewer new resources is at the core of its quest as a CED consultancy firm. Since 2014, the company has worked with clients from private industries and government agencies on ESG solutions and environmental initiatives. “We design to solve environmental problems and make a greater impact with fewer resources,” said Jackie Wang (王家祥), RL’s CEO. The company empowers businesses and individuals to put CED into action by offering consultancy services and solutions while educating the public through exhibitions, training courses and workshops. According to Wang, enterprises recognize that CED brings competitive advantages through innovation that opens new markets, improves customer relations and increases brand value. RL’s multidisciplinary team of designers, engineers and scientists provides manufacturers with economic solutions to improve every aspect of a product’s life cycle.
 

Local Sources

RL masterminded New Taipei-headquartered Acer Inc.’s recycling program for electronic waste such as batteries, laptops, mobile phones and tablets collected at convenience stores. For Taipei-based personal care product company Orientea Enterprise Co., it produced bottles and packaging from recycled plastics. A project with Super Dragon Technology Co. in the northern city of Taoyuan led to conversion of discarded printed circuit boards into bookends, ice buckets, tables and wall tiles.
 

“Waste from increased consumption of short-lived electric and electronic equipment is a growing problem. Gold, silver, copper, platinum and other high-value, recoverable materials are an important source for CED,” Wang said. A 2021 RL collaboration with Germany-headquartered Covestro AG, a world leader in high-tech polymer materials, produced the Circular Design Guidebook for the electrical, electronic and household appliance industry. The guide lays out how to integrate whole value chain CED strategies from early-stage material selection onwards to create sustainable products. The Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration, waste processing plants and product manufacturers have all tapped into RL know-how to tackle marine litter and recycle ocean plastics including fishing nets and PET bottles. These public-private and cross-sector partnerships have yielded products such as bags, eyeglass frames and textiles.
 

Focusing on local agricultural residues such as bamboo and pineapple fibers and rice husks to create 100 percent biodegradable products, Taipei-based Dot Design Co. successfully embraces CED by cooperating with researchers and industry experts on R&D projects. “As designers, we try to develop new products that do not contain any plastics but are equally durable,” said Lance Han (韓世國), founder and director of Dot Design. “We also endeavor to locally source materials to reduce our carbon footprint while designing products that minimize negative impacts on the environment.” Golden Pin Design Award, organized by state-backed TDRI, recognized rice husk sandpit toys and pineapple fiber plates created under Han’s brand Re-ing, plates made from bamboo fibers also receiving Germany’s iF Design Award and Taipei City Government’s Taipei International Design Award.
 

Companies like MINIWIZ, REnato Lab and Dot Design share a passion for CED. “With growing global awareness and action to protect our world, the future is in CED,” Han said. “We aim to make a meaningful impact through sustainable design thinking, enabling human and environmental well-being.”

Write to Kelly Her at kher@mofa.gov.tw