This photo provided by Samsung Electronics Co. on Sept. 27, 2021, shows workers posing for a photo with recycled material from semiconductor wastewater sludge.
SEOUL, March 2 (Korea Bizwire) — The state-run National Institute of Environmental Research on Wednesday revealed that 34 new types of recycling have been approved under its Recycling Availability Assessment System, paving the way for recycling 3.13 million tons of waste as resources.
This system, introduced in 2016, is designed to approve new types of recycling that are not yet stipulated under the law after assessing their impact on the environment and human health and the suitability of their technologies.
In 2021, for instance, tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. and steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co. developed technology to create an alternative to fluorspar used in steel mills by recycling wastewater containing hydrogen fluoride generated by Samsung.
The creation of a fluorspar alternative from wastewater is not a recycling type stipulated in the Waste Management Act.
Instead, the technology was acknowledged as a new type of recycling through the Recycling Availability Assessment System operated by the institute.
Included in the list of other cases that have been approved as new types of recycling under the system are the use of waste tires to produce recarburizers for ferro alloys, and the use of coffee grounds as a raw material for cosmetics items and air fresheners.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
