Municipal waste management and electrical energy generation from solid waste: a mathematical programming approach

Abstract

Purpose Waste production and related environmental problems have caused urban services management many problems in collecting, transporting and disposal of waste. The purpose of this study is to design a new model for municipal waste collection vehicle routing problems with time windows and energy generating from waste. To this purpose, a bi-objective model is presented with the objectives of increasing the income of waste recycles and energy generation from waste and reducing emissions from environmental pollutants. Design/methodology/approach A bi-objective model is presented with the objectives of increasing income of recycles trade and energy generation and reducing emissions from environmental pollutants. Concerning the complexity of the model and its inability to solve large-scale problems, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithms and multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithms are applied. Findings In this research, an integrated approach to urban waste collection modeling that coordinates the various activities of waste management in the city of Kermanshah and energy generation from waste are provided. Besides, this study calculates the criteria that show the environmental effects of municipal waste. The proposed model helps to collect municipal wastes in the shortest possible time in addition to reducing the total cost, revenues from the sale of recycled materials and energy production. Originality/value The proposed model boosts the current understanding of the waste management and energy generation of waste. The paper adds additional value by unveiling some key future research directions. This guidance may demonstrate possible existing and unexplored gaps so that researchers can direct future research to develop new processes.

Government intervention in municipal waste collection with a sustainable approach: a robust bi-level problem

“…The proposed model, presented with a game theory approach, revealed that the compensatory value by the government increases with raising the waste recycling costs and environmental benefits and decreases with reducing the waste disposal and raw material costs. Valizadeh, Aghdamigargari, et al ( 2021 ), Valizadeh, Aickelin, et al ( 2021 ), Valizadeh, Sayed Alizadeh, et al ( 2021 ), Valizadeh, Mozafari, et al ( 2021 )) proposed a bi-level model for collecting hazardous infectious waste and distributing sanitary items during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the government as the leader at the top of the proposed model. They reported that government policies could help contractors during the pandemic.…”

“…Similarly, it is assumed that vehicles will return to processing centers when their capacity is full. The vehicle is allowed to return to the processing center at any capacity level only when the number of unvisited waste bins is zero (Aydemir-Karadag, 2018 ; Valizadeh, Aghdamigargari, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Aickelin, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Mozafari, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Sayed Alizadeh, et al, 2021 ). This assumption helps ensure that no trash is left in the city and all the bins are visited at least once by the vehicles.…”

“…The second part of the objective function is the criterion of model stability, which is related to model feasibility for almost all possible scenarios. In other words, it imposes control restrictions under some scenarios in case of exceeding the model's area (Valizadeh, Aghdamigargari, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Aickelin, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Mozafari, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Sayed Alizadeh, et al, 2021 ). Moreover, is defined as the risk aversion factor, indicating a weighting between model optimality and feasibility.…”

“…As with other activities, the municipal waste collection considers social and environmental impacts and economic and financial outcomes significant for maintaining sustainability (Abdel-Basset et al, 2020 ). Governments can assist the principled management of municipal waste by enacting certain policies (Valizadeh, Aghdamigargari, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Aickelin, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Mozafari, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Sayed Alizadeh, et al, 2021 ). Herein, we show how government decisions on municipal waste management will help collect, recycle, and dispose of municipal waste.…”

“…Waste management has become a significant concern of governments (Valizadeh, Aghdamigargari, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Aickelin, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Mozafari, et al, 2021 ; Valizadeh, Sayed Alizadeh, et al, 2021 ), and waste recycling has significant economic and environmental benefits. Thus, this study mainly aims to provide a bi-level mathematical model for municipal waste collection considering the sustainability approach.…”