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Waste management models and their application to sustainable waste management
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to review the types of models that are currently being used in the area of municipal waste management and to highlight some major shortcomings of these models. Most of the municipal waste models identified in the literature are decision support models and for the purposes of this research, are divided into three categories-those based on cost benefit analysis, those based on life cycle assessment and those based on multicriteria decision making. Shortcomings of current waste management models include that they are concerned with refinements of the evaluation steps (e.g. stage four of AHP or the improvement of weight allocations in ELECTRE) rather than addressing the decision making process itself. In addition, while many models recognise that for a waste management model to be sustainable, it must consider environmental, economic and social aspects, no model examined considered all three aspects together in the application of the model.
... Simapro [20], [59] Umberto [60] Martes [61] Strategic Environnemental Assessment (SEA) Gabi [62] Stan [44] Modest [61] Boustead model [62] SFinx [44] Heat Spot [61] Environnemental Managment System (EMS) Open LCA Dynflow [44] Energy Plan Model [61] LCA Land [63] IFEU [64] KRAM Model [61] Benchmarking ...
... Simapro [20], [59] Umberto [60] Martes [61] Strategic Environnemental Assessment (SEA) Gabi [62] Stan [44] Modest [61] Boustead model [62] SFinx [44] Heat Spot [61] Environnemental Managment System (EMS) Open LCA Dynflow [44] Energy Plan Model [61] LCA Land [63] IFEU [64] KRAM Model [61] Benchmarking ...
... Le Tableau 12, ci-dessous, présente quelques méthodes et outils les plus cités ou discutés dans la littérature. Wisard [44], [61], [62], [65], [70] Waste [44], [57] IWM-2 est un modèle « d'inventaire du cycle de vie » (ICV) appliqué à la gestion intégrée des matières résiduelles solides. L'outil, édité en 2001, permet de comparer différents scénarios de gestion. ...
Pour orienter un flux de déchets et faire un choix d’installation de gestion, les décideurs opérationnels doivent intégrer les volets économique, environnemental, territorial, technique et réglementaire. Ces aspects sont rarement traités ensemble et il est difficile de choisir entre différentes installations de valorisation, en se basant sur une analyse complète et élaborée. Ce travail de thèse consiste en l’élaboration d’un outil comparant, via 23 critères et 42 avis d’experts, des installations de gestion de déchets sur ces 5 dimensions. Pour construire et pondérer les critères entre eux, nous avons adapté une méthode multicritère qui permet, via les avis d’experts, l’agrégation de critères qualitatifs et quantitatifs pour effectuer la comparaison des installations de valorisation. Plusieurs installations de gestion ont été comparées à travers différents cas d’études sur les déchets amiantés, le bois, les sédiments de barrages hydro-électriques et les gravats issus de la déconstruction. Ces différentes études montrent le large spectre d’applications de l’outil. Les installations comparées ont souvent des performances variables selon les dimensions et l’outil donne la possibilité aux décideurs opérationnels de choisir une installation en retenant le meilleur compromis entre les cinq aspects étudiés. En effet, selon leur perception du contexte et leur sensibilité, les gestionnaires de déchets peuvent prendre une décision et disposent d’une base argumentaire permettant la discussion avec les différents services internes et externes concernés par la gestion des déchets.
... An increase in urbanisation and economic development, as well as changes in socio-economic factors, such as lifestyle and income level, has led to complicated characteristics in managing solid wastes. These complex management requirements to assess the overall performance of the system are better handled if supported by tools (Coelho et al. 2017;Morrissey and Browne 2004). It is noted that the most important benefits of waste management models are their ability to handle complexity and uncertainty (Eriksson et al. 2003;Keirstead et al. 2012). ...
... In recent years, multi-criteria decision-making models have focused on ''sustainability,'' by stressing that sustainable multi-criteria decision-making models should be ecologically effective, budget-friendly and socially acceptable (Hung et al. 2007). The most frequently applied decision support models in waste management are life-cycle assessment which focuses on environmental aspects, cost-benefit analysis which aims the maximisation of economic efficiency, and multi-criteria decision making which allows consideration of the factors of sustainability, such as budgetary, technical, and ecological benchmarks (Coelho et al. 2017;Morrissey and Browne 2004). ...
The management of waste with minimum cost and the environmental burden has recently gained importance in the circular economy.
In this study, alternatives for the transportation of wastes by rail and road were compared in terms of cost, environment and personnel
requirement benchmarks by using the multi-criteria decision-making software - Right Choice (2.0). The transportation of waste by
road is shown with Alternative 1, while the transportation by rail is represented by Alternative 2 (by loading waste-carrying trucks
and trailers on the train), Alternative 3 (by loading only trailers on the train) and Alternative 4 (by loading only wastes on the train).
As a result, it was determined that the optimum option to transfer the wastes is as specified in Alternative 4, to load only the wastes on
the wagons. Importantly, the low operation-maintenance cost of Alternative 4, in other words, its high performance on this benchmark
and the high relative importance of the operation-maintenance cost attributed by the stakeholders play a vital role. According to the
sensitivity analysis results, Alternative 3 appears as another option close to Alternative 4 while Alternatives 1 and 2, however, remain
as options to be evaluated where Alternatives 3 and 4 are not included in decision-making at all. The results of this study show that,
depending on the scoring of the criteria in the decision tree, Alternative 4 or 3 could be a better option than the other alternatives, by
reducing the number of alternatives and highlighting the good performers.
... Open dumping of waste is the common practice for many developing countries [42], whereas poor management practices have created waste management a national level problem in countries like Sri Lanka [43]. Therefore, a systematic framework could assist the selection strategy for MSW with strong logical explanations and statistics [44]. Generally, waste management plans consider sustainability and social considerations, and sometimes, decisions derived from various tools can be contradictory due to differences in used criteria [21,40]. ...
... Second, a qualitative assessment makes it difficult to compare the impacts at different stages due to the ambiguous interpretation of the magnitude and significance of impacts [46,47]. A quantified waste management model focused upon minimizing environmental impacts, maximizing material and energy recovery, and reducing the societal costs associated with all the steps of MSW management [44]. Also, quantifiable impacts are generalizable, replicable, and easy to assist in planning decisions in the waste management sector. ...
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management has been a long-standing problem for many cities in developing countries. Urbanization, population growth, and excessive demand for resources caused significant waste related environmental and socio-economic problems in cities. Integration of policy decisions with actionable targets and management of economic and environmental extremes were common challenges to achieving sustainable waste management strategy. Circular economy is a concept that has been evolved with sustainable resource management perspective adopted in this study to support scientific decision-making process for urban planners and policymakers. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a framework to assess the environmental impacts of waste life cycle ranging from waste generation, transportation, treatment, and end disposal. This study used the LCA framework to evaluate the impact of MSW management of a selected local authority in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to identify the environmental impact of four (04) proposed scenarios in comparison with the Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario. Environmental impacts were calculated using global warming potential in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and short-lived climate pollutants. The results revealed that management of MSW within the local authority boundary by integrating recycling, incineration, and sanitary landfill (3:8:1 ratio) offered the highest positive impacts (- 121.84 kg of CO2 eq./ton) while BAU scenario caused the highest negative impacts (250.97 kg of CO2 eq./ton) in comparison with selected scenarios. Moreover, incineration, sanitary landfill, recycling, and anaerobic digestion contributed to emission savings and energy generation. LCA framework was used to identify the composition of MSW for suitable technologies as well as to evaluate the efficiency of existing management mechanisms within a local authority. Evaluation was used to understand the holistic picture of multiple management options to support policymakers in the decision-making process. This framework can be used as a benchmarking tool and bridging concept between the waste management policy and local action plans, which is an important step towards achieving a circular economy for developing countries.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43615-022-00200-x.
... From the perspective of creating a sustainable environment, MCDA has been used in assessing eutrophication (Moriki & Karydis, 1994), evaluating water resource management strategies and selecting the best one (Nijkamp & Vos, 1977), identifying risk prone areas in mining locations (Merad et al., 2004), recognizing the optimal location for setting up electrical and electronic waste treatment plants (Achillas et al., 2010a(Achillas et al., , 2010b and for waste management (Morrissey & Browne, 2004), developing risk assessment approach for sustainable constructions engineering projects (Marhavilas et al., 2020), for searching the optimal setpoints and the ideal gas fuel for sustainable operation of wastewater treatment plants (Heo et al., 2021;Akbaş and Bilgen, 2017). To better predict water demand, Hu et al. (2021) proposed a preprocessing framework using neural network and Balkhair et al. (2016) developed a cost-effective sustainable operation policy of the plant during the failure of any production pump. ...
In the broad sphere of Analytics, prescriptive analytics is one of the emerging areas of interest for both academicians and practitioners. As prescriptive analytics has transitioned from its inception to an emerging topic, there is a need to review existing literature in order to ascertain development in this area. There are a very few reviews in the related field but not specifically on the applications of prescriptive analytics in sustainable operations research using content analysis. To address this gap, we performed a review of 147 articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals from 2010 to August 2021. Using content analysis, we have identified the five emerging research themes. Through this study, we aim to contribute to the literature on prescriptive analytics by identifying and proposing emerging research themes and future research directions. Based on our literature review, we propose a conceptual framework for studying the impacts of the adoption of prescriptive analytics and its impact on sustainable supply chain resilience, sustainable supply chain performance and competitive advantage. Finally, the paper acknowledges the managerial implications, theoretical contribution and the limitations of this study.
... Reducing food waste generates savings for consumers and operators, and the recovery and redistribution of surplus food that would otherwise be wasted has an important social dimension [20]. At the same time, food waste has a substantial economic impact [21][22][23] if we consider all the losses suffered by all those involved in this process (consumers, producers, and retailers). Food waste is generated in all stages of the supply chain, with different features and motivations [24]. ...
Reducing food waste is an important objective in order to raise awareness of the negative effects it produces. The lack of information regarding the efficient use of food will affect the environment and the health of each of us. The objective of the paper is to present the behaviour of Romanian consumers regarding food waste. By means of a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 267 consumers, the following aspects were investigated: the place where they serve meals, the preparation of meals at home, purchase preferences, the motivation for food waste, and selective collection. Consumption typologies identify a higher share of food waste in urban areas and a better use of food in rural areas. The people from rural areas ate more than 50% of their meals at home. The preferred location for procuring food was, by far, the supermarket or hypermarket in both urban and rural environments. Young people throw away more waste than older food consumers. Awareness about food waste is more accentuated in young adults, without a significant correlation to the area of origin.
... Later models included the whole life cycle of products. Up till then, very literature was available on detailed costing information on integrated waste management systems (Morrissey and Browne, 2004). More recent approaches by, for example, Kijak and Moy (2004) has the ambition to achieve a more sustainable waste management by balancing social and economic impacts at different geographical levels, the social cost representing the opportunity cost to society of a given policy initiative (Vigsø, 2004). ...
This study aims at providing a special model framework for the evaluation of ecological–economic efficiency (ECO-EE) of waste management. This will serve as an information support tool for decision making by actors of a solid waste management (SWM) scheme, primarily at the municipal and regional levels.
The objective of this study is to apply the waste management’s efficient decision (WAMED) model along with the company statistical business tool for environmental recovery indicator (COSTBUSTER) model to SWM and municipal solid waste (MSW) schemes in general in order to evaluate and improve their ECO-EE.
The findings point at the possibilities to modify the common CBA- and FCA-based methods by the WAMED, COSTBUSTER and EUROPE models. Estimations in a SWM scheme can be carried out by using economic models, if properly modified.
It is recommended to apply WAMED to SWM schemes in order to evaluate their ECO–EE, apply COSTBUSTER to SWM schemes to determine their relative size and extent, and apply the EUROPE model to the emissions, to reduce unwanted substances.
... Penerapan pendekatan partisipatif dengan pertimbangkan strategi partisipatif multi-level dapat membantu meningkatkan kepercayaan dalam pemodelan, mengidentifikasi masalah dan memungkinkan kepatuhan dengan pengaturan legislatif (Fuldauer et al., 2019). Dalam hal pengelolaan sampah diperlukan pertimbangkan lingkungan, ekonomi dan sosial (Morrissey & Browne, 2004). Pengumpulan sampah rumah tangga yang selektif dengan pengelolaan daur ulang dapat menciptakan peluang untuk membangun kota yang lebih inklusif dan bersih (Gutberlet, 2015). ...
Pencapaian target Tujuan Pembangunan Berkelanjutan TPB/SDGs dalam menjaga kualitas lingkungan hidup memerlukan partisipasi dari semua pihak khususnya masyarakat. Partisipasi itu dalam bentuk menjaga lingkungan yang sehat tanpa pencemaran yang diakibatkan oleh sampah. Salah satu aspek utama dalam menjaga dan meningkatan kualitas lingkungan adalah kepedulian masyarakat dalam pengelolaan sampah rumah tangga dalam lingkungan sosial mereka. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk melihat model komunikasi partisipatif masyarakat dalam pengelolaan sampah rumah tangga. Selain itu penelitian ini juga melihat faktor apa saja yang menjadi penentu partisipasi masyarakat dalam pengelolaan sampah rumah tangga di Kelurahan Petukangan Utara RT 10, RW 2, Pesangrahan, Jakarta Selatan. Penelitian ini merujuk pada Teori Komunikasi Partisipatif yang diilhami oleh pemikiran Paulo Freire, Luis Ramiro Beltran, dan Juan Diaz Bordenave. Komunikasi partisipatif adalah proses perubahan sosial yang beorientasi terhadap kondisi lingkungan kehidupan sosial. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kualitatif dengan menggunakan paradigma konstruktivisme. Data yang digunakan merupakan data primer dan data sekunder. Hasil penelitian ini adalah kehadiran Kelompok Swadaya Masyarakat (KSM) Nyiur menciptakan capacity building bagi masyarakat melalui dialog dan partisipasi masyarakat dalam menjaga lingkungan dan mendorong terbentuknya kesadaran dan kemadirian serta pengetahuan dalam pengelolaan sampah. Dengan demikian dapat menciptakan nilai ekonomi tambah dan kreativitas dengan melakukan daur ulang sampah.
... Furthermore, the guidelines encourage an institutional framework capable of achieving an efficient waste management system, as effectively managed solid waste prevents pollution and environmental degradation, which are cornerstones of environmental sustainability. Environmental sustainability in this context is an integrated approach to effective waste management that sees waste is properly managed to recover its economic value through reusing, recycling, and proper disposal, which encourages material longevity [5][6][7]. However, waste material recovery by institutions in developing countries has been poor, leaving the major role to the informal sector (scavengers who move from site to site to pick recyclable materials for personal gains) that does the work without minding the potential risks involved, as most of them do the work without any personal protective equipment (PPE) [8]. ...
To create a truly circular economy requires a shift from the traditional view of waste disposal to one of resource management. This is particularly important in developing countries, where municipal waste generation is increasing, and efficient recovery of economic value from waste is rarely achieved. Conducted in the University of Lagos (UoL), Nigeria, this study investigated the efficiency of a recycling scheme with the goal of making recommendations to improve the process. UoL’s recycling policy centers around source segregation of waste into color-coded bins. Waste audit was carried out using the output method and interviews were conducted with staff from the waste management team to understand practices on campus. Substantial contamination of colored bins with non-target material was observed. Organics (30%), mixed plastics (28%) and paper (24%) were the most abundant materials, hence have the greatest potential for recovery, and income generation, if segregation rates could be improved. Despite its recycling policy and infrastructure, 99% of UoL waste was going to landfill. Poor policy implementation results in low recovery rates. Targeted waste reduction and increased material recovery would enhance efficiency. Improved awareness of recycling benefits, in addition to policy enforcement, could serve as tools to increase stakeholder participation in recycling.
... Pada dasarnya sampah dapat dipilah menjadi dua: sampah organik/sampah dapur yang dapat diolah menjadi kompos, dan sampah anorganik yang dapat dijadikan bahan yang bernilai eko nomis (Jumar et al., 2014). Morissey & Browne (2004) menyatakan bahwa pengelolaan sampah harus terjangkau, ekonomis dan dapat diterima oleh masyarakat. ...
Based on data from the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) that in the 2018-2019 period the population in the Ciamis district was 1,401,423 people, resulting in a fairly large amount of waste generation, around 78,173 tons/day. The amount of waste transported to landfills (TPA) is only 3,327 tons/day. This shows that only 4% of waste has been managed properly in Ciamis Regency, while the remaining 96% has not been handled properly. Therefore, the team of community service (PkM) Telkom University together with Ciamis Regency work together to increase the capacity and capability of the Waste Bank in managing waste digitally through the application of information technology and the Internet of Things. From the results of the usability survey, a score of 64.12 was obtained, which indicates that in the use of the application, better development is still needed, because most people still need assistance in using the application and still need to get used to using the application. This can be anticipated by providing more intense assistance, both directly/offline and online, such as socialization using an online meeting platform. However, feedback on PkM activities given to the community received a percentage of 97.64%, which stated that this activity was accepted by the community and hoped that this program in the future would be in accordance with the needs of the community.
... Most municipal waste management models identified in the literature are decision support models and can be classified into three main categories: models based on cost-benefit analysis (CBA), models based on life-cycle assessment (LCA), and models based on multi-criteria decision making (MCDM). Although many models recognize that environmental, economic, and social aspects must be considered for a sustainable waste management model, none of them consider all these three aspects simultaneously when applying the model [19]. Municipal waste policymakers need an integrated model to assist them in evaluating their current and future municipal waste management policies [20]. ...
Waste management systems have always been considered complex. Scholars have studied waste management mostly from a macro perspective for a long time, considering waste management policies as a fraction of this complex system. This study presents the causal variables and feedback relationships related to waste management from the inside of the policy, using the macroscopic ideas of Environment-Based Design (EBD) and the system dynamics pictorial representation. The policy model developed in this thesis provides a graphical representation of the abstract policy language. The policy system model constructed based on the policy model further clarifies the linkage between policy and waste management systems. The way the policy really works is also clear from the analysis of the results, i.e., the policy controls the entire waste management system by controlling a subset of variables that affect other variables but are not affected by other variables. These variables can be divided into three categories: user-related variables, policy-related variables, and resource-related variables.
Along with the analysis of policy statements and the search for policy variables, this thesis investigates the process of policy generation and evolution. The general structure of the policy is linked to the responsibilities and work requirements of the various stakeholders within the policy based on three aspects: master plan, management hierarchy, and legal penalties. These structural maps will work together with the policy model to help policymakers further enhance the comprehension and improve the content of the policy in the future.
... Wet finishing processes use up to 200 litres of water per kilogram of fibre, Table 15.1 Type of textile wastes in the fashion and textiles industry (Islam, 2021). making wastewater the largest waste in this sector by volume (Morrissey and Browne, 2004). Consumer awareness and understanding better consumption decisions for clothing and textiles and manufacturers are liable to make that initiative by better designing the composites that are derived from textiles. ...
... Instead of concentrating exclusively on economic and environmental challenges, a multi-stakeholder strategy including the government, business, local communities and waste collectors is required. This approach is relatively recent, dating mostly around the turn of the century (Gutberlet et al., 2017;UN Habitat, 2010;Morrissey & Browne, 2004;Oates, 2021). Furthermore, multiple operators participate in cities across the globe without a universally applicable model (Wilson et al., 2017). ...
The extensive research on waste management has primarily remained confined to metro cities and focused on economic and environmental issues. The present study explores waste management in smaller urban areas from an institutional standpoint, mapping formal and informal players onto a two‐dimensional framework: institutional type and institutional strength. The analysis is based on data accumulated through in‐depth interviews and focus group discussions in three towns of India. Despite the absence of formal acknowledgment, it establishes a continuum between formal and informal actors whose efforts to collect waste and provide public goods and services are mutually supportive. Although the informal sector is ranked lower, there is little variation in institutional strength between the formal and informal sectors. A formal‐informal hierarchy hinders informal waste collectors from moving up the value chain. The paper argues against separating the formal and informal actors in urban policy and planning. A waste management system that is formally integrated is required to extract greater economic value from waste and to strengthen the informal‐formal continuum. This should enhance both the wages and working conditions of waste workers.
... Reducing this amount of waste was identified as an objective by the NPS through a public-private partnership referred to as the Zero Landfill Initiative (ZLI) [16]. Though general waste behavior research is fairly abundant, e.g., [17][18][19] specific research to inform management of waste behaviors in parks and protected areas is sparse [20], and the work that does exist focuses on littering behaviors [21][22][23]. ...
Abstract: Outdoor recreation continues to be persistently high in national parks across the United States, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased use. In popular frontcountry destinations such as national park campgrounds managers are challenged with new issues more familiar to urban settings. One of these challenges is waste management. The largest source of visitor- generated waste in national parks is campgrounds. This research uses a mixed-methods approach to develop and test strategic communications designed to increase recycling and minimize trash to the landfill by altering campground visitor behaviors. Intercept surveys were used to create theory-based messages, and a quasi-experimental approach was used to evaluate message effectiveness. Our results show that messages emphasizing ease concepts were two times more effective at changing campground visitor waste disposal behaviors than control conditions. The results help inform the management of visitors as national parks strive to meet sustainability goals.
... Different kinds of decision-making models have been developed to assess the sustainability of solid waste management. Morrissey and Browne [17] identified three different types of decision-making models used in municipal solid waste management: models based on cost-benefit analysis, models based on LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), and models based on the use of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM). Models using cost-benefit analysis consider economic aspects, while models based on life cycle analysis are based on the assessment of environmental impacts of all phases of a production chain that lead to the creation of waste. ...
Food waste is generated at several stages of the food chain. According to the European Waste Hierarchy, the creation of food waste should above all be prevented, meaning that waste materials with good microbial and nutritional quality should be directed to food use, either directly or through light processing. However, to be feasible, food waste utilisation solutions should be economically profitable, environmentally sustainable and scalable to provide a means to utilise a larger share of the raw materials. In this study, we propose a feasibility evaluation approach for food waste utilisation and prevention solutions. We use two case examples: (1) an artisan bar soap product based on carrot peels, and (2) the retail selling of 2nd class carrots. Both cases are evaluated with six feasibility indicators: edible food waste reduction potential, scalability, level at waste hierarchy, climate impact reduction potential, economic impact, and social impact. Case 2 performed better regarding all indicators other than economic impact. Critical aspects that need to be improved included climate reduction potential for both cases and food waste reduction potential for case 1. The results show that this kind of a holistic approach is useful in identifying the most feasible food waste prevention and utilisation measures.
... In [2] the author explains about multiple criteria decision deciding approach for the important and convenient support tools for garbage management. ...
The important challenge faced by developing smart cities is the processing of waste materials. The increasing amount of WEEE (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment) makes their disposal a difficult situation to handle. WEEE is an economical instrument as the wastes consists more of key metals which are economically valuable. Due to separation of different types of key metals available and the restoration of the key metals being difficult the disposal of WEEE becomes hassle. The aim of this paper is to separate the key metals from the waste, weigh them and credit the corresponding amount to the particular citizen who disposes the waste.
... No model examined considers environmental, economic, and social aspects together in the application of the model. 8 Nevertheless, economic and social cost-benefi t analysis is the form of economic analysis performed by most environmental protection agencies today. 9 However, earlier models developed by Roberge and Baetz 10 were meant to be used within a long-term industrial context with emphasis on waste reduction, where consideration was planned "in the future" to be given also to environmental, political, social, and legislative factors, as well as to the limitations on pursuing an economic analysis with technical and policy considerations. ...
Sustainable Solid Waste Management describes basic principles and recent advances for handling solid waste in an environmentally sustainable way. This volume uses a global lens to examine all aspects of the solid waste, including waste minimization, waste as a resource, appropriate disposal, and efficient systems fostered by effective public policy. Written by leading experts, the 22 chapters analyze the critical issues to be considered during the various stages of a waste management program. Topics include: public policies focusing on reducing waste at its source, recycling, and minimizing disposal amounts; technologies for treating and recycling solid waste; safe, efficient treatment and disposal of hazardous and other special wastes; development and maintenance of engineered landfills and landfill mining; and legal frameworks and the use of life-cycle assessment as a tool for the waste management industry. Municipal engineers, environmental managers, researchers, students, policy makers, and planners will find this book to be an essential guide to social and technological issues related to sustainable solid waste management.
... ISWM emerged in the 1990s from a demand for a more cohesive perspective for managing waste beyond dumping and landfilling (Marshall and Farahbakhsh, 2013). This approach strives to generate a balance between environmental effectiveness, social acceptability, and economic affordability (McDougall et al., 2001;Morrissey and Browne, 2004;Petts, 2000). Increasingly ISWM is framed within the circular economy concept as a strategy to eliminate waste from the design of products and services to support sustainability and compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017). ...
There is an increasing awareness that effective waste management is essential for transitioning towards a circular economy and achieving sustainable development goals. Scholars have studied inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) as a governance solution with the potential to generate economies of scale and reduce financial costs in waste management. However, previous research has not yet focused on measuring the effectiveness of different types of cooperation on social and environmental outcomes. We analyse the effect of different types of IMC, ranging from indirect to collaborative, on Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) indicators. Our embedded qualitative case study in the emerging metropolitan region of Cuenca-Azogues (Ecuador) found that municipalities that invested in more complex cooperation types achieved better integrated waste management performance, particularly on final disposal, citizen participation, inclusion of recyclers and environmental sustainability.
... If low levels of the active substance of the pesticide are A large number of methods and tools for assessing environmental impacts have been developed. Life cycle assessment (LCA) started to be applied on waste around 1990 [33]. LCA investigates the environmental aspects and potential impacts throughout a product's life (i.e., from cradle to grave) [34]. ...
Wasted Plastic Pesticide Containers (WPPC) represent the end-of-life cycle of used agrochemicals. Optimal treatment of these containers is necessary to protect both human health and the environment. In Europe, WPPC are typically rinsed after use and landfilled along with commingled Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). There seems to be no Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in the international literature to compare the environmental impacts of the WPPC management methods. The goal of this work was to perform an LCA to quantify the environmental impacts of seven alternative scenarios to treat and dispose of Wasted Plastic Pesticide Containers and rank them according to their environmental footprints. Thirty-one WPPCs were sampled, triple-rinsed and an analysis of their residual active pesticide was performed. Those residuals amounts were included in the LCA when assembling the WPPC unit. The scenario in which WPPC are separately collected and recycled resulted in the lowest net environmental impacts. Scenario 5 (50% recycling and 50% incineration) and scenario 6 (50% recycling and 50% landfilling) were the next environmentally optimal technologies, while the landfilling scenario resulted in the highest environmental impacts. A sensitivity analysis was performed, using different impact assessment methods, different transportation distances and different types of landfills and incinerators. The residual pesticide amount did not alter the ranking of the management scenarios. Triple rinsing was found to render all wasted containers as non-hazardous wastes.
... The literature emphasized that participatory risk assessment must be inclusive and accessible, allow people to easily communicate their perceptions of danger and behavioural intentions (173,174), and feel meaningful, in that policy-makers are actively listening to and considering public input with the goal of finding "a compromise about what is desirable by society and what is viable in terms of technical feasibility, cultural acceptance, economic possibilities, and willingness to pay" (175). ...
Managing the increasing amount and complexity of municipal solid waste poses a growing challenge to the entire WHO European Region, with serious implications for human health and well-being. Addressing this requires moving beyond technical innovations to better understand and integrate a wide range of factors, including cultural contexts. By examining evidence from a broad array of disciplines in peer-reviewed and grey literature, as well as case studies from the Region, this report opens up a systematic engagement with the role of culture in waste management practices and how this fosters or undermines conditions for health and well-being. While highlighting various tensions between cultural forces at multiple scales, the evidence suggests that culturally grounded approaches to waste management can yield higher rates of public participation and cross-sectoral collaboration, be more sustainable in the long term, and lead to better health and well-being for the wider public, particularly for groups with heavier health burdens associated with waste. The evidence provides a sound basis for strengthening existing policy frameworks and identifying areas in which culture can be a driver for improved policies that are supported by all stakeholders.
Availble at: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354695
... The wasteagriculture nexus is particularly relevant in this context (Kurian and Ardakanian, 2015), especially from the bioeconomy perspective (EC, 2012;Loiseau et al., 2016). First, the ever-increasing waste production pattern has prompted the need for more sustainable waste management, from economic, environmental and human health standpoints (Morrissey and Browne, 2004;Singh et al., 2014) and secondly, the rising food demand is exerting additional pressure on agriculture and other food production systems that are expected to feed the growing population in more sustainable ways despite increased resource constraints (EC, 2011;Moreau et al., 2012). Both concerns could -and perhaps should!-be jointly addressed , but they are often studied separately. ...
... In this article, an assessment of the chloride removal strategy from the environment in washing and cleaning processes is made based on a decision analysis (multi-criteria). Multi-criteria decision models have been used since the 1980s as an environmental impact assessment tool in environmental engineering [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]. The objective of the research presented was to determine the amount of chlorides in the sweepings on an annual basis in order to determine the potential risks associated with their impact on select aspects of the environment and to evaluate the frequency of cleaning urban streets, taking into account environmental and economic effects. ...
Waste from street cleaning is usually of a fine fraction below 10 mm and varies greatly in both quantity and composition. It may be composed of chlorides, especially for that resulting during winter due to the use of street de-icing agents. Chlorides can cause the salinization of surface water and groundwater, and the salinization of soils, which in turn lead to the deterioration of water purity and a decrease in biodiversity of aquatic organisms, changes in microbiological structure, and increases in toxicity of metals. Therefore, it is very important to determine the level of salinity in stored waste and its impact on the environment. The present study was conducted in a city of about 55,000 inhabitants. The highest chloride concentrations were observed after winter in waste from street and sidewalk cleaning around the sewer gullies, amounting to 1468 mg/dm3. The lowest chloride concentration in this waste occurred in summer and amounted to 35 mg/dm3. The multi-criteria analysis indicated that the most beneficial form of street cleaning and, thus, of reductions in chloride concentration in the waste from street cleaning, would be sweeping and daily washing. The objective of this research was to determine the amount of chlorides in sweepings on an annual basis in order to determine the potential risks associated with their impact on select aspects of the environment and to evaluate the frequency of necessary cleaning for city streets, considering the effects. The methodology used was a multi-criteria evaluation, which as a decision analysis, allowed us to determine the frequency of cleaning and washing of streets, in such a way that an ecological effect is achieved with simultaneous economic efficiency.
... Sustainable MSWM requires to be economically reasonable, environmentally friendly, and socially acceptable (Morrissey and Browne 2004). With waste disposal technologies rapid development and diversity (Wu et al. 2018), technological factor plays an important role in assessing MSWM alternatives. ...
Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has been considered as a complicated multi-criteria decision-making problem for the uncertain context and related criteria. To select an optimal MSWM scenario, this paper provides a comprehensive MCDM framework for decision-makers under 2-dimensional uncertain linguistic (2-DUL) environment. Distinguished from traditional approaches, this framework not only guarantees the consistency of comparison matrix but improves effectiveness and efficiency in the decision process. Moreover, it accurately solves the cardinal and ordinal information of MSWM scenarios. Firstly, due to ambiguous and uncertain decision context, the 2-DUL set, characterized by I class of the linguistic evaluation information and II class of the reliability of the assessment results, is adopted to describe decision-makers’ preference. An expectation reduced-dimension is developed to effectively handle 2-DUL set. Secondly, to guarantee consistency and reduce numerical pairwise comparisons, a best-worst-method (BWM)-based analytic network process (ANP) is utilized to form the local priority vectors of the main criteria and sub-criteria. Main criteria weights and sub-criteria weights are then obtained by aggregating all local priority vectors. Thirdly, an extended QUALIFLEX approach is employed to rank all alternative MSWM scenarios by comparing the weighted concordance/discordance index among overall possible permutations of all alternative scenarios. Finally, the developed framework is applied in a case study to determine an optimal MSWM scenario in Beijing. Additionally, a comparison analysis is complemented. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework is feasible, efficient, and superior in MSWM scenarios selection.
... The waste-agriculture nexus is particularly relevant in this context (Kurian and Ardakanian, 2015), especially from the bioeconomy perspective (EC, 2012;Loiseau et al., 2016). First, the ever-increasing waste production pattern has prompted the need for more sustainable waste management, from economic, environmental and human health standpoints (Morrissey and Browne, 2004;Singh et al., 2014) and secondly, the rising food demand is exerting additional pressure on agriculture and other food production systems that are expected to feed the growing population in more sustainable ways despite increased resource constraints (EC, 2011;Moreau et al., 2012). Both concerns could-and perhaps should!-be jointly addressed, but they are often studied separately. ...
Agricultural recycling of organic waste (OW) derived from urban, agricultural and agroindustrial sources is an essential sustainable development strategy. Yet repeated application of nutrient-laden OW in crop fields can also drastically boost contaminant levels in soil. This review focuses on the consideration of three categories of OW-borne contaminants, namely trace elements, organic contaminants and pathogens (including antibiotic resistance), in environmental assessments, chiefly involving life cycle assessment (LCA) and risk assessment (RA). The in-depth discussion also focuses on gaps between empirical knowledge and the models underlying these frameworks. Potential improvements to fill the identified gaps are proposed, including novel approaches and uses of existing approaches, while also featuring various levels of “readiness.” Finally, a comprehensive theoretical framework to assess OW recycling scenarios, combining complementary approaches and models, is proposed and exemplified.
... If we refer to the waste management hierarchy on the way to sustainable development, see, for example, studies by McDougall et al. (2008); Marshall & Farahbakhsh (2013); Morrissey & Browne (2004), the easiest to the hardest approaches, from the viewpoints of financial investment and technological know-how, could be summarized as the followings: ...
A zero-waste concept does not necessarily mean that someone should not produce waste at all, which is impossible, rather the waste dumped to disposal site is minimized or zero. On the other hand, in many developing cities in Asia, the municipal solid waste is predominantly biodegradable waste, which accounted for 60-80 percent. Therefore, the zero-waste thinking is largely depending on the way handling the biodegradable waste. biodegradable waste treatments are straightforward towards zero landfill through composting and waste-to-energy program that produces biogas and electricity. This study attempts to understand the process towards zero-waste at the landfill site, through conventional engineering and technology of waste recycling, composting and producing energy from the waste, amid the dilemma between sustainable life and ever-increasing waste production.
... Literature analysis pointed out that the quality of compost is affected by different factors. Several parameters can be used to evaluate the quality of the final product of compost to ensure its safe use, especially in agriculture [43]. Therefore, further efforts must be made to standardize joint evaluation methods and determine reliable limits related to public health and environmentally acceptable risks. ...
In this chapter, we reviewed recent studies on the composting of organic manure as sustainable technology for integrated solid waste management. Although much progress has been made in understanding organic manure composting, there are still many unknown factors and mechanisms on the complex interactions between a substrate, physicochemical factors, and microbes that need to be explored. Therefore, need some sustainable methods for waste management like composting. In recent years, applying targeted biotechnology to recycle organic waste, composting products were obtained and collected on an industrial scale according to the type of organic waste. Composting processes include some challenges, such as how to limit organic and inorganic pollution, such as emission of GHGs, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants. More in-depth research and development of cleaner composting are essential to improve and to better utilize its role in economical production. Through composting, processing costs and environmental pollution can be reduced, and the ultimate product can be used as fertilizer. Sustainable management through composting can not only save energy and reduce emissions but also improve resource utilization. In order to meet the current needs of clean composting innovation, the waste aerobic composting method is combined with a new business model. These techniques meet the stable market demand and can guarantee safety and sustainable economic development.
Background:
According to EU regulations, member states shall take measures to encourage the recycling of biowaste in a way that fulfils a high level of environmental protection. In Spain, the separate collection of biowaste is only implemented in some regions. For this reason, a pilot scheme based on an information campaign and the location of a specific brown container for biowaste in specific zones of the city was carried out in Castellón de la Plana (Spain) over a period of six months. In this period, the collection and composition of the biowaste was monitored in depth with the goal of determining the evolution of the efficiency of the new collection system over time.
Results:
In the zones, the quality rate in the biowaste container increased as the pilot study progressed, finally reaching 90%. The rate of biowaste separation also increased in the three zones over time, although in different ways, which means that there is greater collaboration on the part of citizens. On the other hand, an analysis of the rate of net biowaste daily collection from zones 2 and 3 has shown that their value increases as the rate of containerization of biowaste decreases.
Conclusions:
In order to obtain better results in the biowaste quality rate it will be necessary to increase the containerization of biowaste, that is, to reduce the distance from the citizen to the container. It can thus be said that there is a positive evolution of the experience, which boosts confidence when it comes to implementing the system throughout the city.
Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is a critical administrative, environmental and financial issue in low-income countries, such as Pakistan, where waste collection efficiency is less than 75% in all urban areas, except Lahore. Therefore, it is pertinent to develop practical decision-making tools to enhance waste collection efficiency by local municipalities and waste management companies (WMCs). A tool/calculator, holistically measure analyze forecast honestly (HMAFH), is proposed for waste collection in urban areas based on the lessons learned. The tool was developed considering local conditions, i.e., business environment, socio-economic and cultural dynamics, city infrastructure and stakeholders’ desires. It is flexible to various proposed waste collection modes, with heterogeneous fleet choices, and it presents an opportunity to integrate collection with a material recovery facility (MRF) or direct haulage to the disposal site. The HMAFH was tested successfully in the Lahore district. Based on the proposed scenarios, the result shows a material recovery of up to 33% by defining dedicated waste collection streams with a 26% saving on fuel. The proposed interventions can prove to be a defining step toward building a circular economy (CE) that allows the integration of treatment options with economic potential to account for 35% of the current operating expenditures and a reduction in greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission, i.e., 1,604,019 tons of CO2-eq./annum.
The goal of this study is a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of processes and flows within the solid waste management (WM) system in Kutaisi, Georgia, and the wider Imereti region. The applied methodology based upon data collected through customized questionnaires enabled both the formal and informal sectors (IS) to be characterized. Moreover, waste composition studies in the region's rural and semi-urban areas revealed that the share of recyclables is higher in urban areas and commercial centres. A material flow analysis was used to transparently consolidate the collected data, showing that dumping and landfilling still play a major role within the Georgian WM system. The total amount of waste landfilled on 'Nikea' landfill in 2019 equals 58,000 tonnes year-1, from where around 55,500 tonnes year-1 is formally collected municipal solid waste, and 2,503 tonnes year-1 is commercial and industrial waste. According to the findings, the size of the IS in Kutaisi is 0.07-0.15% of the city's population, whose supposed cumulative income is estimated GEL 0.57-1.13 million (EUR 180-360 thousand) in 2019. Informally collected recyclables are estimated 870-1,750 tonnes year-1, comprising 6-11% of recyclables landfilled in Kutaisi in 2019. The study provides a basis for decision-makers. Replicating the applied methodologies and approaches to create this sound database could support the WM system across whole Georgia. The study further reveals the importance of the need to stop neglecting the IS and recognizes the importance of its role in the WM system of Kutaisi and the wider Imereti region, respectively.
Sustainable waste management systems necessarily include many interacting factors. Due to the complexity and uncertainties occurring in sustainable waste management systems, we propose the use of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) and Bacterial Evolutionary Algorithm (BEA) [1] to support the planning and decision making process of integrated systems, as the combination of methods FCM and BEA seems to be suitable to model such complex mechanisms as Integrated Waste Management Systems (IWMS). This paper is an attempt to assess the sustainability of the IWMS in a holistic approach. While the FCM model represents the IWMS as a whole, the BEA is used for parameter optimization and identification. An interpretation of the results obtained by the FCM for the actual regional IWMS is also presented. We have obtained some surprising results, contradicting the general assumptions in the literature concerning the relative importance of constituting components in waste management systems.
In present time, rapidly increasing urbanization has increased the generation of solid waste sharply, and it has become a serious concern for every city and town. The effective and efficient solid waste management system for a city is a very complex problem. It has to be thoughtfully investigated based on considering various economic, environmental, and social parameters. The selection of appropriate options is the key to an efficient waste management system for a city. In the present study, Jabalpur, which is one of the oldest city in central India, is considered for the selection of appropriate solid waste disposal/treatment option, and their combinations from available options, i.e., are sanitary landfilling, mechanical biological treatment (aerobic), and incineration with energy recovery for economic evaluations. The different scenarios were analyzed with sets of criteria based on economical, technological, and social and environmental using multi-criteria decision-making tools fuzzy TOPSIS technique. Results show scenario: 2 SLF_MBT receives highest priority due to its economic and environmental merits over other alternatives, whereas scenario: 3 SLF_INC, the incineration with the energy recovery scenario receives second-highest priority due to the high energy generation.KeywordsMunicipal solid wasteSanitary landfillMechanical biological treatmentIncineration with energy recoveryFuzzy TOPSIS
Currently, the circular economy approach is gaining importance, and it is already a concern to different industrial sectors, intending to eliminate the waste produced while trying to create new value chains. In addition to this disruptive process, the net-zero carbon emissions objective can be fulfilled. In this way, the energy recovery of residual biomass forms is assumed to be a high potential alternative for pursuing this objective. The present work deals with the recovery of brewery spent grains (BSG) and spent coffee grounds (SCG) through direct combustion. Samples were collected and characterized to analyze the viability of BSG and SCG combustion recovery options. From the results, it can be concluded that, although this possibility can be viable under certain circumstances, some constraints due to the composition of these materials can jeopardize this recovery option. Further research concerning the life cycle assessment of these materials and eventual environmental impacts caused by such a solution is still missing and must be conducted. It is also essential to proceed with further chemical characterization of these wastes concerning corrosion-related phenomena and to justify diverting both BSG and SCG from urban solid waste streams. After this preliminary approach, the research can also focus on the economic analysis and quantification of resource availability.
Bank Sampah Hasil Makmur Jaya Karangtempel menjadi alternatif untuk menyelesaikan masalah sampah di daerah Karangtempel dan berpartisipasi dalam perlindungan lingkungan. Tujuan dibangunnya Bank Sampah Hasil Makmur Jaya Karangtempel untuk membangun kepedulian masyarakat Karangtempel agar dapat ‘berkawan’ dengan limbah rumah tangga untuk mendapatkan manfaat ekonomi langsung dari limbah rumah tangga beriintegrasi dengan gerakan 3R sehingga manfaat langsung yang dirasakan tidak hanya ekonomi, namun pembangunan lingkungan yang bersih, hijau dan sehat. Bank Sampah Hasil Makmur Jaya hanya mengelola limbah anorganik rumah tangga saja sedangkan limbah organik rumah tangga belum dikelola dengan baik. Masyarakat Karangtempel diberikan sosialisasi, pemberian materi dan pelatihan berupa keterampilan dalam mengelola limbah organik rumah tangga menjadi eco enzym dan magot. Kegiatan mitigasi perubahan iklim di Bank Sampah Hasil Makmur Jaya dimulai dari pengelolaan limbah organik rumah tangga di wilayah Kelurahan Karangtempel yang dilaksanakan secara berkelompok dengan melibatkan masyarakat di lokasi kampung iklim Karangtempel. Perilaku pengelolaan limbah organik rumah tangga yang melibatkan masyarakat Karangtempel adalah contoh kegiatan mitigasi perubahan iklim. Kampung iklim Karangtempel terdiri dari masyarakat Karangtempel, komunitas Bank Sampah Hasil Makmur Jaya yang diharapkan memiliki ketahanan terhadap perubahan iklim yang sedang dan akan berlangsung.
Exponentially increasing population, industrialization, urbanization, etc., are the consequences of the unsolved problem of municipal solid waste management in India. Mismanagement of the generated solid waste has a negative impact on the public health and the environment. Effective recycling of solid waste is considered as one of the various approaches to overcome these problems. The review aims to provide an overview of the prevailing waste management scenarios across the globe and highlight the importance of recycling. The review assessed the key criteria of municipal solid waste management, and it includes a complete assessment of municipal solid waste creation, characterization, collection, and disposal in India. The inherent issues and driving possible solutions for successful solid waste management are examined. Unsorted garbage at the source, social hurdles, public perception, a lack of knowledge, unplanned expenditures, and inadequate execution of government laws were noted as the problems with solid waste management. The review found that the geographical position and economic status of a nation are important in dictating waste characteristics, and identified the recycling potential of solid waste. The review concluded that the various characterization techniques are important for the development of value-added products produced through the recycling of solid waste. Moreover, the review suggested the adoption of an integrated waste management approach for the socio-economic environmental development of nations. The findings and discussions of the review will help the relevant authorities for municipal solid waste management and researchers develop more efficient strategies for successful municipal solid waste management.
Graphical abstract
The contributors to Colonial Racial Capitalism consider anti-Blackness, human commodification, and slave labor alongside the history of Indigenous dispossession and the uneven development of colonized lands across the globe. They demonstrate the co-constitution and entanglement of slavery and colonialism from the conquest of the New World through industrial capitalism to contemporary financial capitalism. Among other topics, the essays explore the historical suturing of Blackness and Black people to debt, the violence of uranium mining on Indigenous lands in Canada and the Belgian Congo, how municipal property assessment and waste management software encodes and produces racial difference, how Puerto Rican police crackdowns on protestors in 2010 and 2011 drew on decades of policing racially and economically marginalized people, and how historic sites in Los Angeles County narrate the Mexican-American War in ways that occlude the war’s imperialist groundings. The volume’s analytic of colonial racial capitalism opens new frameworks for understanding the persistence of violence, precarity, and inequality in modern society.
Contributors. Joanne Barker, Jodi A. Byrd, Lisa Marie Cacho, Michael Dawson, Iyko Day, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Alyosha Goldstein, Cheryl I. Harris, Kimberly Kay Hoang, Brian Jordan Jefferson, Susan Koshy, Marisol LeBrón, Jodi Melamed, Laura Pulido
10Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) encompasses a broad range of methods to support decision-making to reach a compromise solution when there are multiple criteria. One example of a multi-criteria problem is identifying the most sustainable solution to manage solid waste. In this case, different conflicting objectives exist, which can be categorised based on environmental, economic, social and technical metrics. In this article, the most relevant MCDM methodologies and tools are described and discussed, focusing on their applicability to assess solid waste management systems. The most relevant methodologies identified are the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT), Outranking procedures and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). A common weakness of these methodologies is that the evaluation criteria set by decision makers are generally subjective. It is recommended to integrate various methods and tools or to develop bespoke methodologies to optimise solid waste management.
This study proposed a decision support system (DSS) for optimizing transportation routing and disposal hub location for Thailand's local administrative organizations' hazardous waste management. The first step is to choose the origin and destination, as well as to collect data for each route. Each route's decision criteria were based on traffic quality and risk measures from the perspective of users. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to compute effective weights for decision criteria. To achieve optimal routing, AHP weights were combined with a zero-one goal programming technique. The DSS operates systematically and successfully, taking into account both transportation risk and socioeconomic factors, and provides appropriate routes. Overall, this waste management system may provide useful information to decision-makers for prioritizing disposal site alternatives and implementing feasible waste management actions. The zero-one location design was then used to determine the best hub location. Based on two scenarios of six and fifteen CoG hubs, the results revealed that the best model for managing a case company's hazardous waste was to establish 15 hubs scattered throughout the country for collecting points and then transporting them to the waste disposal plant in Phitsanulok province. Locating the hub near sink points would reduce transportation costs and backhaul issues, reducing the environmental impact of GHG emissions and increasing system efficiency. Implication StatementThe problem of waste pollution has become increasingly serious all over the world, particularly in developing countries that face significant pollution control challenges. End-of-life wastes cause economic, health, and environmental problems if they are not properly managed. As the world's population and living standards rise, so does the amount of waste produced. The environmental impact is significant, with massive amounts of waste generated each year with only basic or minimal treatment to mitigate its impact. As a result, there is an urgent need for a method that can precisely optimize transportation routing and disposal hub location for Thailand's local administrative organizations' hazardous waste management (LAOs). The proposed decision support system (DSS) may provide useful information to decision-makers in prioritizing disposal site alternatives and implementing feasible waste management actions.
Waste management is a crucial issue for maintaining the environment and caring for people’s health. Since a wide array of people and communities are exposed to dangers from exceeding the production and growth rate of waste, the efficiency of waste management benefits everyone. This measure requires logical and precise planning. The primary aim of this paper is to categorize waste generation management to preserve the well-being of public health, the environment, and environmental resources. Waste management with the cooperation and collective efforts of citizens, businesses, industries, and government, can continue to enhance materials’ reuse, recycling the whole solid wastes resources. Reducing the excess production of materials is the primary goal of this project. It has been proved that prevention is better than remedy in most cases, thereby proposing green production as an answer. Green production, alongside cleaner production, is seeking prevention innovations, protecting the environment by analysing the flow of materials and energy throughout the manufacturing process. In this regard, this study reviews and summarizes the related research to identify proper options for minimizing the waste materials, energy, and emissions from industrial processes, through strategies for the optimal utilization and application of resources. The reviewed papers are classified into oversees the prerequisite steps for management strategies before and after waste generation. Finally, research gaps have been reported to identify areas for future study. The obtained results showed that in approaching waste, more studied materials are dedicated to waste management but not to prevention or waste minimization before its inception. Furthermore, the best manners in waste management to protect the environment are prioritized, respectively, at first prevention, secondly waste minimization, thereafter recycling the manufactured wastes to hasten the delivery to the landfills and lessen the amount of transportation.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) has caused the increasing concern for environmental issues in recent years, and the wide engagement from all stakeholders of society has been involved in promoting integrated MSW management. Therefore, this study aims to identify the problems of dis-synergy among multi-stakeholders engaged in the integrated MSW management evolution, then contribute strategies to coordinated development of integrated MSW management system by bettering the engagement and interaction of different stakeholders combined with the region characteristics. From the perspective of the stakeholder theory and synergy theory, we constructed an integrated MSW management system with four stakeholder subsystems: governments, enterprises, residents, and NGO subsystems. We used integrated MSW management in Harbin as a case study and used the synergy degree model to estimate the system synergy degree from 2010 to 2019. Then, the synergetic development trend of integrated MSW management was studied, providing a feasible approach to boost the coordinated development of integrated MSW management in Harbin. The results were in concordance with the factual situation and pointed to integrated MSW management in Harbin and, although there is movement towards a more harmonious and orderly state over time, the government subsystem needs to be further reinforced.
This article presents comparative documentary research about the applicability of the regulations of the domestic solid waste separation in Tokyo and Bogotá. Through the review of documentation and lectures heard on YouTube, internal and external factors were found that shape the behavior of citizens, government action, and the operation of regulations in each country. The results show that despite the fact that the population of Japan doubles that of Colombia, the former presents higher rates of use of solid waste thanks to the separation of waste at home of 80% (Inaba, et al. 2022), while Colombia is a country so rich in the territory and with a population rate that corresponds to less than half that of Japan, barely 17% of solid waste is used (Departamento Nacional de Planeación de Colombia, 2016). This is influenced by factors such as the strictness of the regulations, the government's commitment to comply with its duties as guarantors of the right to enjoy a healthy environment, and the development of the country, and its culture. In a conclusion, the inhabitants are motivated to be responsible for taking care of the resources of the planet, especially the country in which they live, so that the fulfillment of their duties as civic and ethical citizens is encouraged; Likewise, the commitment of the government to enforce the regulations and to take the necessary measures to mitigate environmental damage is necessary.
The role of solid waste management in sustainable development become increasingly important with the accelerating urbanization worldwide. The urban lifestyles produces waste in larger quantity and diverse quality. This phenomenon stimulates and challenges both the innovation of treatment technologies as well as the development of institutional and legislation instruments in regulating waste sorting at the point of collection, waste transportation and the integration of waste treatment technologies within an urban system. We argue that to achieve urban sustainability, designing a customized integrated waste management plan to suit socio-cultural contexts and economic capacity of a site of a city is the key. The indicators used for evaluating performance of such waste management plan may drive the direction of the waste management approach and should not only focus on one aspect of sustainability such as GHG emission though this environmental issues is shared globally. Further, the public education on waste sorting may be the key factor to optimize the expected outcome of an integrated waste management plan. Developed countries are more advantageous from this aspect of social development than the developing countries in achieving desirable outcome. To improve sustainability in waste management at global scale, some technology transfer from developed countries to developing countries can be helpful. However, affordability and site-specificity need to be taken into account.
The rapid development of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) results numerous theoretical and empirical documents. However, as far as we know, there is no literature focus on the theme evolution and knowledge trajectory of the AHP field until now, which makes it difficult for scholars to grasp the research priorities in this domain. To fill this gap, this study conducts science mapping analysis and main path analysis (MPA) on 1326 documents retrieved from Web of Science (WoS) to explore knowledge development and the main research fronts in the AHP field. This study first reflects the evolution trend of the theme through science mapping analysis based on co-word analysis, and proposes six outstanding research areas in the AHP field. Then, through MPA based on citation relationship, this study finds that outsourcing is one of the future research trends. Overall, this paper not only provides researchers with a comprehensive overview of the AHP domain, but also helps practitioners find the cutting-edge application areas and methods.
The non-planned development of cities has created numerous problems especially with respect to waste material management system. Many aspects of environmental impact of waste material disposal methods are not addressed properly in normal planning system. Thus Environmental Impact Assessment with respect to different waste management techniques is indispensible. Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix is an effective tool of Environmental Impact Assessment which can provide transparent results in a limited time frame and can reduce the impact related uncertaininty that arise due to subjective nature of impact assessment. In the present study to evaluate the impact of solid waste material disposal techniques for Agartala city shows that Sanitary Landfill with 16 no of positive impacts among 27 no selected criteria followed by Composting with 14 no positive impacts are the most appropriate alternatives of waste disposal from environmental point of view. Such a study is a novel one with respect to the city of Agartala which will definitely contribute towards attaining the sustainable town planning & smart city goal of Agartala.
Food waste is a social, environmental, and economic challenge today. The European Union’s
Green Deal demands tackling this problem. Our research question is: “What are the solutions
regarding food waste prevention across the companies’ supply chain?” The mixed research
method consisted of content and thematic analysis. We collected information from the reports
published by European food companies that have joined the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork
Strategy. The data were structured using a theoretical model in which we integrated ten
essential stages of the food chain. The findings show that most of the information is reported
for the manufacturing/production stage. Although transfer to landfill is unavoidable in supply
chains, organizations make substantial efforts to reduce the proportion of food waste. The
methods applied by food companies are inspired by European regulations regarding
environmental protection. Our research identifies solutions brought about by the Green Deal
on food waste prevention.
Article history: Abstract: Received August 17 th 2020 Municipal solid waste collection constitutes one of the most pressing issues in developing countries. In recent years the continuous increase in solid waste has been observed with the increase in population growth. Several studies have applied Geographic Information Systems in waste management. Existing research has however concentrated on waste generation and disposal and a few studies focused on collection systems. In this study we determine how collected waste varies using GIS. The relationship between collected waste and other variables such as affluence, population and road density were also tested. We found that collected waste does vary in urban environments and the variation is significantly related to affluence (r=-0.3382, p=0.009) population (r=0.536, p=0.001) and road density (r=0.391, p=0.07). We recommend that in the future resource allocation for solid waste collection should also incorporate the variables tested in this study.
Európska únia v oblasti environmentálnej politiky uplatňuje prevažne princíp bottom-up, teda prebratie iniciatívy a tvorby agendy aj od neverejného sektora smerom k decision makers, ktorí o verejných politikách zelenej infraštruktúry a odpadového hospodárstva priamo rozhodujú. Hlavný tlak v udržateľnosti optimálneho životného prostredia je vyvíjaný hlavne na samosprávy a ich rezidentov, ktorí produkujú odpady a svojou dennodennou činnosťou vplývajú aj na prírodné prvky na území obcí a miest. Aj preto sa v moderných výskumoch analýzy samospráv orientujú na aplikáciu tzv. mozaikového governance, ktorý má svoju štruktúru, kde základným prvkom je veľké množstvo aktérov, ktorí vytvárajú diskurz o smerovaní environmentálnych riešení, podriaďujú sa pravidlám hry, ktoré však aj sami utvárajú a využívajú spektrum zdrojov. Celý proces je podmienený skutočnosťou, že každá samospráva je špecifickým politickým subsystémom, ktorý má vlastné pravidlá a jedinečnú charakteristiku územia a potrieb obyvateľov. Publikácia analyzuje osem prípadových štúdií zo slovenskej praxe vybraných miest, kde každá samospráva rieši oblasť životného prostredia vlastným spôsobom, pričom je uchovávaný princíp aktívneho občianstva (active citizenship) v rôznych formách.
Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has been considered as a complicated multi-criteria decision-making problem for the uncertain context and related criteria. To select an optimal MSWM scenario, this paper provides a comprehensive MCDM framework for decision makers under 2-dimension uncertain linguistic (2-DUL) environment. Distinguished from traditional approaches, this framework not only guarantees the consistency of comparison matrix but improves effectiveness and efficiency in the decision process. Moreover, it accurately solves the cardinal and ordinal information of MSWM scenarios. Firstly, due to ambiguous and uncertain decision context, the 2-DUL set, characterized by I class of the linguistic evaluation information and II class of the reliability of the assessment results, is adopted to describe decision-makers’ preference. An expectation reduced-dimension is developed to effectively handle 2-DUL set. Secondly, to guarantee consistency and reduce numerical pairwise comparisons, a best-worst-method (BWM)-based analytic network process (ANP) is utilized to form the local priority vectors of the main criteria and sub-criteria. Main criteria weights and sub-criteria weights are then obtained by aggregating all local priority vectors. Thirdly, an extended QUALIFLEX approach is employed to rank all alternative MSWM scenarios by comparing the weighted concordance/discordance index among overall possible permutations of all alternative scenarios. Finally, the developed framework is applied in a case study to determine an optimal MSWM scenario in Beijing. Additionally, a comparison analysis is complemented. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework is feasible, efficient and superior in MSWM scenarios selection.
The role of modeling in the field of solid waste management is reviewed in this article. Models for locating solid waste facilities are described, including: Wersan's algorithm, Schultz' algorithm, Baker's algorithm, the University of Louisville approach, and Skelly's model. The Wersan approach uses a combination locational equilibrium linear programming model to find a solution to the locational model, Schultz uses a locational equilibrium model, and Baker, a trial and error approach. The University of Louisville study team adopted a linear programming model, and Skelly used a fixed charge algorithm. Some stochastic and deterministic models are also described for determining solid waste collection policies. A discussion is made of the Quon, Tanaka, and Wersan approach as typical examples of the mathematical simulation approach to this problem. Another approach to analyzing the overall solid waste management system is to examine its overall economic characteristics, and some examples of this technique are described. Finally, some studies exploring the application of deterministic and simulation modeling to urban solid waste management problems are reviewed.
This paper describes a decision support system, for urban waste management in a regional area, to be used for evaluating general policies for service organisation of the collection and for identifying areas suitable for locating waste treatment and disposal plants. The Decision Support System (DSS) is applied to a selected provinces in Sicily. The decision support system allows the generation and evaluation of suitable alternatives with respect to salient features of the problem, especially environmental consequences. The paper describes the identification and collection of relevant information, the structuring of a database, the design of combinatorial optimisation algorithms for solving the core location problem, the study of models for evaluating the different alternatives and their framing in a complete multicriteria decision model. Finally, the solution of the case study, by means of the DSS, is described.
I ntegrated Waste Management is one of the holistic approaches to environmental and resource management which are emerging from applying the concept of sustainable development. Assessment of waste management options requires application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This paper summarizes the methodology for applying LCA to Integrated Waste Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) developed for and now used by the UK Environment Agency, including recent developments in international fora. Particular attention is devoted to system definition leading to rational and clear compilation of the Life Cycle Inventory, with appropriate ‘credit’ for recovering materials and/or energy from the waste. LCA of waste management is best seen as a way of structuring information to help decision processes.
In the first part of this paper, we describe the main features of real-world problems for which the outranking approach is appropriate and we present the concept of outranking relations. The second part is devoted to basic ideas and concepts used for building outranking relations. The definition of such outranking relations is given for the main ELECTRE methods in Part 3. The final part of the paper is devoted to some practical considerations.
A model utilizing a modeling-to-generate-alternatives (MGA) approach for generating solid waste management (SWM) alternatives is presented in this study. The goal of this study is to create a computer program for the preliminary design of SWM systems. The program can be used to determine the least cost treatment and disposal system for a given SWM problem, and generate a set of alternatives that are widely `different' with respect to treatment processes. Therefore, a wide range of technical alternatives and possible effects can be analyzed. A Bounded Implicit Enumeration (BIE) technique is first applied to produce a set of SWM systems within a specified cost constraint. The Pairwise Difference (PWD) approach is then used to rank the alternatives and screen out designs which employ similar treatment processes. The information and cost data collected on SWM processes, disposal methods, and costs for City of Greensboro, NC are compiled and used to demonstrate how the model can be used in practice. The results of this study show that the model developed is capable of generating SWM systems that are different from each other and cost no more than a specified percent above the lowest cost design.
A practical methodology has been developed for standardized municipal solid waste (MSW) data reporting. Common data requirements have been classified and general data requirement guidelines have been established to assist waste management authorities in their long-term planning and management efforts. The methodology has been utilized in a long-term MSW management study of Terrebonne community, a single parish (county) in Louisiana. An integrated approach to MSW management has been used. In such an approach, suitable techniques, technologies, and management programs are selected and applied to achieve long-term waste management objectives. The activities associated with MSW management are divided into functional elements: generation, collection, recycling, composting, long-distance transfer, incineration, and disposal. The data requirements have been classified first according to the functional area of MSW management. Within each functional area classification, the data requirements have been grouped depending on the type of data. Four general types of data requirements are proposed: demographic, management, technical, and economic. The standardized data reporting system for MSW management allows waste management authorities to more accurately assess the true costs of MSW management activities thus facilitating the long-term planning and management efforts. It leads to the greater availability of more compatible data among different geographical areas. Also, it furthers regionalization efforts currently under way in many states.
A digital computer simulation model for complex urban mixed-refuse collection systems has been prepared. It calculates the number of daily truck routes in each subarea as a function of household density, collection frequency, and collection truck traffic haul distance; it then assigns individual collection trucks by number to work in these subareas by days of the week. After this initialization, the model simulates collection of semiweekly or triweekly frequency with or without a transfer station for a 6-day week, and prints a resumé of the week's activities. With this model costs of alternate locations for final disposal sites and transfer station sites can be investigated and compared. The efficiencies of proposed systems with different collection truck capacities and with or without auxiliary compaction equipment can also be investigated, in such terms as unit cost in dollars per ton, overtime hours, and required number of haul units. The model is structured so that local field performance data, truck costs, labor costs, etc., can easily be entered for use in evaluating most proposed urban system policy changes.
A dynamic optimization model is presented, which enables the selection of the combination of processing or disposal facilities, or both, from among a number of alternative facilities, that would minimize the overall cost of haul, processing or disposal, or both, in solid waste management operations over an extended period of time. The major input requirements for this model are as follows: (1) data on existing and projected population levels and densities or levels of waste production for the selected service areas; (2) empirical relationships yielding the operating cost; variable and fixed capital cost requirements of the candidate processing and disposal methods as a continuous function of the daily, monthly, or annual loading of these facilities; (3) information on distance and time of travel between any two points in the study area; and (4) operating and capital cost data on solid waste transport operation.
Many models have been created over the last few decades to assist in developing more efficient solid waste management programs. These models vary in their intent, assumptions, and solution procedures. However, they all have the ability to provide significant insights into the design of solid waste activities. A summary of models developed in the last 15 years is presented along with model characteristics and a discussion of their details. This review focuses on models whose computational structures have been published or formally presented. By providing this information, an understanding of future modeling needs becomes apparent. Finally, a decision support system is suggested to assist in using the models that have been developed.
This chapter discusses the needs of society: less waste, and then an effective way to manage the inevitable waste still produced. Such a waste management system needs to be both environmentally and economically sustainable and is likely to be integrated, market-oriented, flexible and operated on a regional scale. The current hierarchy of waste management options is critically discussed, and in its place is suggested a holistic approach that assesses the overall environmental impacts and economic costs of the whole system. Lifecycle techniques are introduced for comparing the overall environmental impacts and economic costs.
KeywordsWaste ManagementAnaerobic DigestionWaste Management SystemWaste ReductionSource ReductionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Material recycling is quickly becoming the most visible component of municipal solid waste management systems, and optimization models could play a prominent role in the long-term cost-effective planning of these systems. In this paper, we develop a mixed integer programming model for the recycling of various by-product materials within the overall waste system. This model is solvable on a microcomputer for reasonable problem dimensions, and the planning methodology is applied to a hypothetical municipality to illustrate the potential utility of the developed modelling approach.
Absteact: A model for regional solid waste management as a network flow problem is described, and a special purpose algorithm is deve!oped. The model is applied to waste management and facility siting decisions for the Munich Metropolitan Area of the Federal Republic of Germany.
This paper presents a sophisticated mixed‐integer linear programming model developed to help regional decision‐makers in the long‐term planning of solid waste management activities. The model removes practically all the limitations of earlier integrated waste management models. All the features and capabilities of the tool are described in technical and non‐technical language. The paper includes statistics from a real‐world application, and some directions for future developments.
The first edition described the concept of Integrated Waste Management (IWM), and the use of Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) to provide a way to assess the environmental and economic performance of solid waste systems. Actual examples of IWM systems and published accounts of LCI models for solid waste are now appearing in the literature. To draw out the lessons learned from these experiences a significant part of this 2nd edition focuses on case studies - both of IWM systems, and of where LCI has been used to assess such systems. The 2nd edition also includes updated chapters on waste generation, waste collection, central sorting, biological treatment, thermal treatment, landfill and materials recycling. This 2nd edition also provides a more user-friendly model (IWM-2) for waste managers. To make it more widely accessible, this edition provides the new tool in Windows format, with greatly improved input and output features, and the ability to compare different scenarios. A detailed user's guide is provided, to take the reader through the use of the IWM-2 model, step by step. IWM-2 is designed to be an "entry level" LCI model for solid waste - user-friendly and appropriate to users starting to apply life cycle thinking to waste systems - while more expert users will also find many of the advanced features of the IWM-2 model helpful. IWM-2 is delivered on CD inside the book. © 2001 Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited. All rights reserved.
Presented here is the axiomatic foundation of a model-generating framework for formulating location–allocation models in the field of integrated regional solid waste management. Data requirements are standardized, a generalized network objective function is developed and a set of potential constraint menu is compiled. Along the framework development, many local peculiarities are considered; resulting mixed-integer, linear models are solvable by exact or heuristic algorithms. These models are adaptable to each criterion of a customized set, thus supporting multicriterial analysis.
The objective of this paper is to assess the economic and envi ronmental performance of municipal multi-material waste collection and sorting programmes, and their contribution to sustainable development. These programmes collect and sort household waste in order to recover materials that are consid ered to be desirable "outputs" of the process. However, recov ery procedures also generate "undesirable outputs" such as pollution, noise and residues. To account for different aspects in a performance measure, the concept of "productive effi ciency" is used. The feasibility of a non-parametric approach to productive efficiency is illustrated and substantiated, including economic and environmental variables in assessing the performances of nine waste collection and sorting pro grammes from European municipalities.
A deterministic linear programming model is presented that can be used to aid decision makers in the long-term scheduling of disposal and diversion options in a regional integrated solid waste management system. The model can be used to determine what types of integrated solid waste management programs to implement, and when to implement them, in order to minimize costs over a long planning period. The model is capable of handling multiple communities, landfills, and incinerators, and can incorporate the possible implementation of numerous collection and diversion options, such as recycling and composting programs. The model can incorporate mutually exclusive collection and facility options. The model also uses innovative approaches in determining the volume of waste land filled and energy content of wastes incinerated, given the effect of implemented diversion options on the waste stream. Alternative methods to handle costs in the objective function are discussed, including (1) units costs; (2) mutually exclusive facility options, each with an associated unit cost; (3) fixed and operating costs; and (4) variable costs using the piecewise linear approximation method. In a companion paper, a hypothetical case study is used to explore the capabilities of the model.
Material recycling is quickly becoming the most visible component of municipal solid waste management systems, and optimization models could play a prominent role in the long-term cost-effective planning of these systems. In this paper, we develop a mixed integer programming model for the recycling of various by-product materials within the overall waste system. This model is solvable on a microcomputer for reasonable problem dimensions, and the planning methodology is applied to a hypothetical municipality to illustrate the potential utility of the developed modelling approach.
The proposed systems approach to solid waste management consists of two parts, first, a comprehensive model, MIMES/WASTE (a Model for description and optimization of Integrated Material flows and Energy Systems), for analysing the technical properties of the waste management system, and second, procedures to make the model into an efficient tool in the planning process. The paper focuses on the first part by describing the model and the methodology for using it for broad scope technical analysis of the waste management system. A pilot study for the Göteborg region in Sweden, illustrating the methodology and the use of the model, is presented. The MIMES/WASTE model is a systems engineering tool for strategic planning of municipal waste management systems. The model provides a framework for consistent evaluation of: (i) a large number of feasible options for developing the system, (ii) the effects of uncertainties in the system environment and, (iii) various goals set up for the system (e.g. cost efficiency, environmental control, recycling, and energy production). Three modes of application are discussed: long-term planning; short-term planning; and consequence analysis.
In the first part of this paper, we showed how life-cycle impact assessment can be described as an exercise in decision analysis.
We developed a structure for how to decide on the relative importance of different environmental stressors. In this second
part, we offer criteria for the grouping of stressors into impact categories and for the development of impact indicators.
Facts to be included in a characterization method should be selected according to their relevance and combined following established
scientific models. Facts should be included only if they are informative, that is, if sufficient and sufficiently certain
information is available for all stressors that should be evaluated by this method. Abstract, constructed indicators at the
‘midpoint level’ are better suited to compare similar impacts than indicators reflecting ‘observable environmental endpoints’
if there is a large uncertainty about the effects on observable endpoints. We argue that midpoint modeling should be retained.
The additional evidence introduced by endpoint methods should be used to support ‘judgments about facts’ needed to evaluate
the importance of different impact categories (or means objectives) in the means-ends objectives network.
The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a theory of relative measurement of intangible criteria. With this approach to relative measurement, a scale of priorities is derived from pairwise comparison measurements only after the elements to be measured are known. The ability to do pairwise comparisons is our biological heritage and we need it to cope with a world where everything is relative and constantly changing and thus, there are no fixed standards to measure things on. In traditional measurement, one has a scale that one applies to measure any element that comes along that has the property the scale is for, and the elements are measured one by one, not by comparing them with each other. In the AHP, paired comparisons are made with judgments using numerical values taken from the AHP absolute fundamental scale of 1 to 9. A scale of relative values is derived from all these paired comparisons and it also belongs to an absolute scale that is invariant under the identity transformation like the system of real numbers. The AHP is useful for making multicriteria decisions involving benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks. The ideas are developed in stages and illustrated with examples of real-life decisions. The subject is transparent and easy to understand why it is done the way it is along the lines discussed here. The AHP has a generalization to dependence and feedback; the Analytic Network Process (ANP) is not discussed here.
Keywords:
analytic hierarchy process;
decision making;
prioritization;
benefits;
costs;
complexity
Existing solid waste management (SWM) planning software provides only limited assistance to decision makers struggling to find strategies that address their multifarious concerns. The combinatorial nature (many waste items and many management options) and multiple objectives of the SWM problem severely constrain the effectiveness of a manual search process using these tools. Recognizing this, researchers have proposed several optimization-based search procedures. These methods, however, enjoy limited use due to the substantial expertise required for their application. This paper presents a new computer-based decision support framework that addresses these limitations. The new framework integrates process models that quantify the life-cycle inventory of a range of pollutants and costs for an extensive municipal solid waste system, an optimization search procedure that identifies strategies that meet cost and environmental objectives and site-specific restric-tions, and a user-friendly interface that facilitates utilization of these components by practitioners. After describ-ing the software design, the use and value of the tool in typical waste management scenarios is demonstrated through a hypothetical, but realistic, case study in which several alternative SWM strategies are generated and examined.
Life-cycle impact assessments (LCIAs) are complex because they almost always involve uncertain consequences relative to multiple criteria. Several authors have noticed that this is precisely the sort of problem addressed by methods of decision analysis. Despite several experiences of using multipleattribute decision analysis (MADA) methods in LCIA, the possibilities of MADA methods in LCIA are rather poorly elaborated in the field of life-cycle assessment. In this article we provide an overview of the commonly used MADA methods and discuss LCIA in relation to them. The article also presents how different frames and tools developed by the MADA community can be applied in conducting LCIAs. Although the exact framing of LCIA using decision analysis still merits debate, we show that the similarities between generic decision analysis steps and their LCIA counterparts are clear. Structuring of an assessment problem according to a value tree offers a basis for the definition of impact categories and classification. Value trees can thus be used to ensure that all relevant impact categories and interventions are taken into account in the appropriate manner. The similarities between multiattribute value theory (MAVT) and the current calculation rule applied in LCIA mean that techniques, knowledge, and experiences derived from MAVT can be applied to LCIA. For example, MAVT offers a general solution for the calculation of overall impact values and it can be applied to help discern sound from unsound approaches to value measurement, normalization, weighting, and aggregation in the LCIA model. In addition, the MAVT framework can assist in the methodological development of LCIA because of its well-established theoretical foundation. The relationship between MAVT and the current LCIA methodology does not preclude application of other MADA methods in the context of LCIA. A need exists to analyze the weaknesses and the strengths of different multiple-criteria decision analysis methods in order to identify those methods most appropriate for different LCIA applications.
A life cycle inventory model was applied to a range of waste management scenarios in the waste collection authorities of Gloucestershire. The life cycle model and the results of modelling different waste management options are described. Model results were submitted to waste managers in the six authorities and utilization of the information was analysed. Analysis suggests that a range of factors arising from both model implementation and the local policy context affects the form and extent of utilization. Increased levels of environmental knowledge and understanding will be required to make effective use of life cycle analysis in local authority decision making.
Effective planning of solid-waste recycling programs is a substantial challenge to the current solid-waste management systems in Taiwan. Due to the rapid depletion of landfill space and the continuing delay in construction programs of municipal incinerators, solid-waste management strategies have to be reorganized in light of the success of recycling, recovery, and reuse of secondary materials. One of these efforts is how to effectively allocate recycling drop-off stations of appropriate size and how to design efficient collection-vehicle routing and scheduling programs in the solid waste collection network. This management strategy is particularly important in the privatized system with recycling containers and material recovery facilities (MRFs) owned by one agency. This research seeks multiobjective evaluation of the trade-off between the number and size of drop-off stations, the population covered in the service network, the average walking distance to drop-off stations by the population, and the distance traveled by collection vehicles. It also illustrates the use of the multiobjective nonlinear mixed integer programming model to achieve such goals that are solved by the genetic algorithms (GA) in a geographical information system (GIS) platform. The case study shows the application potential of such a methodology in the city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
Recycling is widely assumed to be environmentally beneficial, although the collection, sorting and processing of materials into new products also entails significant environmental impacts. This study compares the relative environmental impacts of a recycling system (incorporating the kerbside collection of recyclable materials and their subsequent use by manufacturers), with a waste disposal system (in which the waste is disposed to landfill and primary raw materials are used in manufacture), using the technique of lifecycle assessment. The methodology is then extended to incorporate an economic evaluation of the environmental impacts. This combination of lifecycle assessment and economic evaluation can be termed ‘Lifecycle Evaluation’. Lifecycle assessment quantifies and evaluates the environmental impacts of a product from the acquisition of raw materials, through manufacture and use, to final disposal. Lifecycle assessment can also provide a framework for the analysis of environmental impacts from systems such as transport, or waste management, as demonstrated in this paper. The results, for a case study of Milton Keynes in Central England, show that the recycling system generally performs better than the waste disposal system in terms of contribution to global warming, acidification effects and nutrification of surface water. An alternative method of analysis is then used, in which an economic valuation of the environmental impacts is carried out. This produces net benefits for recycling, per tonne of material, of £1769 for aluminium, £238 for steel, £226 for paper and £188 for glass, and net costs of £2.57 for high density polyethylene (HDPE), £4.10 for poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) and £7.28 for poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET). It is concluded that lifecycle evaluation, the combination of lifecycle assessment and economic valuation, can be applied to a variety of waste management issues such as the appraisal of alternative methods of collection for recycling or an examination of the UK waste management hierarchy. This technique allows impacts to be expressed in homogenous units, and the inclusion of social and environmental impacts that would not normally be addressed within a lifecycle assessment. The approach would also facilitate the evaluation of environmental and social effects at a local level, which are particularly crucial to the success of community recycling schemes. Lifecycle evaluation could provide a powerful tool to aid the development of sustainable waste management and recycling policy.
A computer model was developed and applied for studying integrated municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The model is based on a method developed for analysing on-site collection systems of waste materials separated at the source for recovery. The aim of the Helsinki study was to find and analyse separation strategies fulfilling the recovery rate targets adopted for municipal solid waste in Finland, i.e. 50wt.% by the end of 2000 and 70wt.% by 2005. In the present situation (i.e. in 1995), the total recovery rate of 27wt.% was achieved in the region. The strategies studied were first based on source separation only, resulting in a highest recovery rate of 66wt.%. At the same time, the costs of MSWM increased by 41% compared to the year 1995. Next, a recovery rate of 74wt.% was attained by combining source separation with central sorting of mixed waste. As a result, the costs of MSWM increased by 30% compared to the present situation. In both of these strategies, the emissions caused by MSWM were generally reduced. The model developed proved to be a suitable tool for strategic planning of MSWM. Firstly, the analysis of collection systems helped to identify potential separation strategies and to calculate the amounts of materials collected for recovery. Secondly, modelling of MSWM systems made it possible to determine the effects of separation strategies on costs and emissions caused by the whole MSWM. The method and model developed can be also applied in other regions, municipalities and districts.
The ELECTRE III outranking model is particularly suited to aiding the choice between project alternatives on the basis of mainly environmental criteria. The model requires values of three criterion thresholds, the indifference threshold (q), the preference threshold (p) and the veto threshold (v). These allow the uncertainties inherent in the criteria valuations to be incorporated into the decision process. There is, at present, a high degree of subjectivity involved in determining these thresholds, which are expressed in terms of the error/uncertainty associated with the valuations of each of the criteria under scrutiny. If, however, the ELECTRE III outranking model is to be used within a formal environmental appraisal system, the thresholds which govern the outranking relationship of one project option over another must take account of the effect on human beings of the difference between any two criterion scores. The authors suggest a new method for applying the standard ELECTRE III model to decision-aid problems within the formal mechanism of environmental impact assessment. This involves a new, more comprehensive approach for specifying realistic limits for p, q and v, within the context of an environmental appraisal, where both criterion error/uncertainty and human sensitivity to differing levels of the criterion are taken into account. Threshold valuations for noise impacts from a highway project are used to illustrate the proposed method.
Environmental consequences of implementing Uppsala's waste management plan have been analysed using orware, a computerized static substance flow model based on life cycle assessment methodology. Normalizing emissions from waste management to total emission loadings in the municipality was tested as a means to improve the evaluation. It was found that anaerobic digestion of biodegradable waste can reduce net environmental impact, while large-scale composting either increases environmental impact or gives less reduction than anaerobic digestion. In either case, metal contamination of digester sludge or compost may limit the feasibility of the systems. Increased materials recycling has the potential of reducing environmental impact, provided that processing of recycled materials causes equal or less environmental impact than extraction and processing of virgin raw materials. Normalization showed that all impact categories were of roughly equal importance. It was shown that easy accessible data published by a Swedish municipality were sufficient to do a relatively comprehensive normalization.
Solid waste planning addresses situations which involve a variety of factors such as economic costs, legislative requirements, land use, pollution generation, resource usage and equity in the number and demographics of people effected by a plan. In making decisions about solid waste systems, the trade-offs between these factors must be considered, leading to large amounts of data and information that must be organized and analyzed. Unfortunately, many municipal solid waste planners do not have the resources needed to manage all of the relevant information, leading to incomplete consideration of relevant factors, or satisficing in selecting an alternative. To assist in improving the solid waste decision-making process, a study of planning processes was completed, and a specific spatial decision support system (SDSS) developed to address the multi-attribute and geographical nature of solid waste systems. This is done by providing analytical tools both for developing plans and for evaluating a number of impacts associated with a plan. The SDSS includes expert systems and model management capabilities to supply, organize and analyze relevant data, and a GIS to help planners understand the spatial nature of particular programs and how they may impact the public and the environment.
We report on an actual application of the ELECTRE III decision-aid in the context of choosing a solid waste management system in the Oulu region, Finland, in 1993. The Electre III method proved useful, especially when dealing with environmental problems involving many decision-makers, and in cases where the outcomes of the various alternatives remain to some degree uncertain. One of the main conclusions of our study is that all the proper landfill capacity available in the planning region should be used up. In addition, the energy potential of waste should be utilized within the region. Therefore, the solution recommended for a solid waste management system was intermediate landfilling, composting and RFD-combustion. The decision-makers commented positively on the method used and were satisfied with the options recommended. The scheme will be implemented for use from the beginning of the year 1995.
The present work presents an application of multicriterial aid for decisions in the area of municipal solid waste management in Greece, in the context of a case study for household wastes in the Greater Athens Area. For the case study area, a concise family of 24 evaluation criteria is proposed. Through these, five selectively composed alternatives for the integrated management of household waste are compared and ranked by the ELECTRE III multicriterial method. Results indicate separate collection at the source to be particularly important, whereas the need for careful sensitivity analysis to inter- and intra-criteria information is demonstrated.
ELECTRE III is a multi-criteria decision-aid model, particularly suited to the environmental appraisal of complex engineering projects. The authors propose a system which can be used to weight criteria within those non-compensatory decision-aid models, such as ELECTRE III, where information on the relative importance of the criteria is required. The limitations of the weighting systems used to date within ELECTRE III are outlined, and Hinkle's `resistance to change' grid is proposed as a new, simple, and straightforward weighting system with a coherent methodological basis. A worked example of Hinkle's technique, applied in the area of solid waste management, illustrates how it can be used to derive importance weightings for a set of mainly environmental criteria.
Recent years have seen a world-wide change in the environmental policy towards integrated pollution prevention, taking into account all environmental media. Consequently, the environmental assessment of production techniques has to consider multiple criteria which cannot be aggregated to one single index. The concepts of Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) seem a suitable means in order to implement Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) into integrated decision processes. The outranking methods as a special subgroup of MCDM methods are particularly suitable for integral decision making through the notion of weak preference and incomparability, which better represent the real decision situation, as demonstrated in this paper. Especially the outranking method PROMETHEE brings together flexibility and simplicity for the user and is therefore chosen for the enhancement towards the evaluation of fuzzy data on preferences, scores and weights.
Life cycle assessments carried out to assess paper recycling have arrived at different conclusions, partly due to methodological differences in the inventory analysis. Important methodological issues include the definition of system boundaries, allocation, assumptions and choice of data. Forestry, electricity production, recycling and final waste management are important parts of the wood-fibre life cycle. This overview demonstrates the significance of different methodological problems, presents various solutions and offers recommendations. The starting point in an efficient and accurate assessment is the decision at hand, rather than the life cycle of the product investigated. To obtain the environmentally optimal wood-fibre system, recycling should ideally be assessed in connection with other waste management, forestry and energy policies.
In this article a multicriteria method, called the Conflict Analysis Model, is developed combining the preference function approach of ELECTRE and PROMETHEE with the conflict analysis test of ORESTE. The result is a comprehensive framework for multicriteria decision making that can be applied to all kind of problems no matter whether the data are ordinal or cardinal. After a description of the methodology, the method is applied to an investment choice problem in agriculture.
A theoretical model has been developed for the management of municipal solid waste streams (MSW), taking into account their rates and compositions, as well as their adverse environmental impacts. The model identifies the optimal combination of technologies for the handling, treatment and disposal of MSW in a better economic and more environmentally sustainable way.