The waste management supply chain: A decision framework (original) (raw)

Cost–benefit analysis of waste reduction in developing countries: a simulation

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 2013

Waste reduction activities such as recycling, composting, and pig feeding in Peru and other developing countries are mainly informal but already reduce about 15 % of waste generation. Although much research on informal recycling in Latin America recommends partnership with current waste pickers, there is a lack of methodologies on how to systematize these activities. This paper proposes a mathematical model that calculates yields and costs of separate waste collection, and analyzes and measures the effect of improvements such as source separation by residents and location of recycling and composting centers. The analysis finds that the largest effect comes from source separation. In this case, separate collection yield can be increased from the current 30 kg/waste picker/day to about 200 kg/waste picker/day, and the cost can be reduced from 110 US$/t to 20 US$/t. These changes affect the profitability of the recycling and composting business. The environmental and social effects of these improvements are also discussed.

Analysis of the contribution of waste sorting plants to the reverse processes of supply chains

Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy, 2018

The purpose of this article is to analyse the contribution of waste sorting plants to the reverse processes of supply chains. The research method is the double case study of two Brazilian waste sorting plants. The research techniques were the analysis of reports, interviews, participant observation, and statistical analysis of historical series of production. The qualitative part of the study concluded that the main roles of waste sorting plants are the supply of local industry with recycled low-cost raw material or to recover energy as fuel, environment development by reducing the use of controlled landfills, and social support to the municipality by reducing public health liabilities and generating jobs and income for vulnerable communities. The quantitative part of the study observed two systemic behaviours. In the first sorting plant, external elements reacted to an expressive increase of the production and limit the current outcome. The second sorting plant is a bottleneck. Des...

The benefits and costs of alternative solid waste management policies

Resources Conservation and Recycling, 1995

In the last few years controlling the size and composition of the solid waste flow has moved substantially up the public policy agenda in many countries. With this has come the question of what are the appropriate types of public interventions in the economy to control this flow. The most dramatic of the interventions have involved adoption of high recycling targets for specific fractions of the waste stream and special measures to deal with packaging waste, especially in a number of European countries. Questions are being raised about whether the targets and inventions are warranted on the basis of economic analysis, especially about the costs and benefits of the objectives and the instruments to achieve them. This paper reviews the published and some unpublished literature through the spring of 1993 and generally finds that the conceptual and empirical basis on which to predicate efficient and effective solid waste management policy is still rather incomplete. The only principled basis for public interventions thus far established in the economics literature is that for user fees at the household level. The paper analyzes the role of waste management fees or user charges in rationalizing investment in waste management technology and finds that, while there is wide agreement that the prices are not right in this environmental area, there is little focus on the role that such fees can play in motivation source reduction at the consumer or household level. A number of recommendations are made for using economic instruments for efficient solid waste management.

Chapter 7:Comparison of Waste Management Alternatives

Comparing the alternatives of waste collection, transfer, transportation, transformation and treatment is a crucial stage, since each alternative is associated with different economic costs, impact on the environment, externalities and degree of public involvement. Unless we can combine all these "costs", we cannot choose the appropriate alternative. Our alternative cannot be to "do nothing". Doing nothing means to continue dumping waste in landfills, an option, which generates externalities, and (probably) is not the optimal alternative.

Cost minimization and operation optimization model for strategic waste management decision plans: A case study

African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2021

The design of a sustainable waste management system is pivoted on the ability to generate and compute real-time operational data for a strategic developmental decision plan. The real-time waste data generated at the University of Lagos Campus waste management system was used to develop a mathematical model with three operational indicators, namely, Total Cost Indicator (TCI), to show the overall daily cost for managing one metric ton of mixed municipal waste in the system from collection to final disposal, Lost Revenue Indicator (LRI), to show revenue loss for each metric ton of residual waste landfilled, and Material Recovery Indicator (MRI), to show the fraction of recyclable materials recovered from collected mixed waste. All three indicators were calculated at different recyclable materials recovery efficiencies to determine the cost implication on the system's operational parameters. The model revealed that the present municipal solid waste (MSW) system operates at a recyclables recovery efficiency rate of approximately 3% but can be increased at optimum capacity to 18%. This performance improvement will result in a cost reduction of $0.32/ton when daily sorters' capacity, material revenue potential and result-based financing recycling operations are determined using this model as a strategic management planning tool. The model provides an adaptable framework for the development of MSW management decision plans for cities in a developing nation.

The effect of recycling price uncertainty on municipal waste management choices

Journal of Environmental Management, 2009

This paper analyzes the effect of price uncertainty and irreversible investment on the decision of municipalities to switch from landfill waste disposal to recycling by developing a model to predict recycling adoption behavior and applying it to empirical data. It is shown that uncertainty regarding the price of recycled materials may induce a risk neutral municipality to prefer landfill disposal, even when recycling is less expensive. A model is developed to describe the switching process and estimate its parameters using empirical data from 79 municipalities in Israel. The model is then used to predict municipalities' recycling adoption decisions under various assumptions regarding price uncertainty. The results support the hypothesis that price uncertainty is a major obstacle for recycling. Finally, several options for price stabilization are sketched and it is argued that these policies may be effective in establishing viable recycling markets.

The economics of municipal solid waste

The World Bank Research Observer, 1995

This article examines the generation and management of municipal solid waste through the lens of economics. The authors estimate that the global burden of municipal solid waste amounted to 1.3 billion metric tons in 1990, or two-thirds of a kilogram of waste per person per day. Industrial countries account for a disproportionately high share of the world's waste relative to their share of world population, while developing countries account for a disproportionately high share of the world's waste relative to their share of world income. Analyses across countries and over time reveal that the generation of municipal solid waste is positively related to variations in per capita income and that the generation of municipal solid waste per capita does not vary with population size among countries with comparable per capita income.

Recycling common materials: Effectiveness, optimal decisions, and coordination mechanisms

European Journal of Operational Research, 2018

A growing amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated worldwide, and common materials (paper, plastic, metals, and glass), which account for more than half of MSW, exhibit low recovery rates. In this paper, we aim to investigate some key questions about recycling across three dimensions: greenhouse gas emissions, operational costs, and aggregate costs (social costs of emissions plus operational costs.) First, we build supply chain models for cradle-to-grave and cradle-to-cradle supply chains to derive an analytical condition for recycling effectiveness, and use US emissions and cost data to empirically validate that recycling is effective in reducing emissions for all the abovementioned materials. Furthermore, our analysis shows that recycling is effective for all materials, with the exception of glass, with respect to both operational and aggregate costs. Second, we study optimal recycling decisions in terms of collection and yield rates in a socially optimal case, as well as in scenarios in which recycling decisions are made by a local government, a product manufacturer, and an independent recycling firm. Unlike some of existing findings, we show that there are instances in which a product manufacturer or an independent firm might be the best choice for organizing recycling operations. Finally, we discuss and analyze incentives that a social planner should offer to recyclers to bring their efforts closer to the socially optimal choice. We obtain a novel result, which shows that a deposit/refund scheme implemented by a social planner with a refund to local governments might lead to a socially optimal collection rate.

Waste-to-Resource value chain optimisation: Combining spatial, chemical and technoeconomic aspects

Water Research, 2020

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