Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
HD Hyundai Infracore wins top recycling certification
An image of HD Hyundai Infracore's research and development center at its Incheon plant with a graphic dsipalying UL Solution's platinum grade Zero Waste to Landfill validation for HD Hyundai Infracore / Courtesy of HD Hyundai Infracore
By Nam Hyun-woo
HD Hyundai Infracore said Thursday it won the top-tier certification of Zero Waste to Landfill for the first time in the global construction equipment industry.
The company said its plant in Incheon won the platinum grade certification from UL Solutions. The certification is a global program run by UL Solutions, a U.S.-based safety science company, which verifies how waste generated at business sites is recycled or reused.
The platinum grade is the highest of the certification’s three levels, meaning the site’s recycling rate has reached 100 percent. Gold is awarded to those that recycle between 95 and 99 percent, and silver is granted for recycling rates of 90 to 94 percent. The certification serves as an indicator of a company’s resource circulation capabilities.
HD Hyundai Infracore’s Incheon plant first achieved a 95 percent recycling rate in 2021, and maintained a 96 percent rate from 2022 to 2024, earning the gold grade certification for four straight years.
The country’s average recycling rate for waste generated at plants stood at 84.4 percent in 2023, according to environment ministry data.
To improve its recycling rate, HD Hyundai Infracore has been collecting fine dust generated throughout its manufacturing processes and recycling it as raw material for brick and cement production. General waste has been converted into solid fuel instead of being incinerated.
“The validation is an outcome of our management efforts toward environmental, social and governance values being recognized externally,” an HD Hyundai Infracore official said. “We will continue efforts to expand resource circulation and minimize environmental impact.”