Prioritizing Barriers to Be Solved to the Implementation of Reverse Logistics of E-Waste in Brazil under a Multicriteria Decision Aid Approach

Abstract

This study aims to identify the main barriers to fully implement the reverse logistics of e-waste in Brazil and prioritize them under a Multicriteria Decision Aid approach (MCDA) according to the perceptions of small and medium-sized companies, consumers, and the Brazilian government. Hence, the study was conducted in two steps: (i) Systematic literature review to identify the main barriers, with data collection carried out through a documental analysis, and (ii) MCDA application, through self-administered questionnaires. In order to deal with the uncertainty in subjective measures, the method of Composition of Probabilistic Preferences (CPP) was applied to analyze the results of each group of decision maker, opting for the progressive-pessimistic scenario to prioritize the barriers to be solved. As main results, a priority classification of the internal and external barriers considering each category of decision maker was obtained. Moreover, it was verified that the government and micro and small companies agreed that internal barriers with an organizational nature or related to infrastructure management are the main obstacles to the implementation of reverse logistics. On the other hand, consumers consider the managerial or organizational barriers as a priority.

An Insight into Reverse Logistics with a Focus on Collection Systems

“…The categories are capacity/availability, flow balance, time, product type, number of collected products, and warranty constraints (Table 8). [79][80][81] The constraint of capacity is the key characteristic of the collection system. Capacity not only considers the facility [67,69], but it also includes the capacity of the vehicles [68].…”

How to Assess Reverse Logistics of e-Waste Considering a Multicriteria Perspective? A Model Proposition

“…The PCP method was used by [36], carrying out the prioritization of the actions considering the set of criteria, which was based on the systematic literature review. In this sense, the contribution of this proposition can be emphasized, the model approach the implementation of reverse logistics of e-waste from the perspective of multiple criteria, which can enable the constant revision of the model chosen to implement reverse logistics, and allows the timely correction of the course of action by decision-makers.…”

“…(a) This model includes several qualitative and quantitative criteria, related to economic, social, and environmental issues, which very often have conflicting relationships [3,4,25,36]; (b) This context of decision-making comprehends several stakeholders such as government, citizens, waste manager, industries of electrical electronic equipment (EEE), recycling industries of e-waste, third-party logistics providers, small, medium or large size retailers, waste pickers and, non-governmental organizations, and others [3,4,36]; (c) These stakeholders, very often, present conflicting points of view related to the implementation of reverse logistics of e-waste, considering economic, social, and environmental dimensions, considering their different interests related to the topic [4,36]; (d) Suppliers should have a balanced performance in all criteria proposed, which means that compensation between criteria is not allowed (a poor performance in a given criterion should not be compensated for by very good performance in another criterion) [4,25,80];…”

“…(e) In realistic situations, decision-makers may have difficulties to decide due to (i) there is subjective or insufficient data; (ii) the analyst may not know the preferences of the decision-makers; and (iii) it is hard, or even arbitrary to assign weights or exact values to the criteria chosen to evaluate the options of actions (alternatives) [36]; and (f) It is required that the model incorporates inaccurate, imprecise, uncertain, or ill-determined data and considers the imperfect nature concerning the values of the criterion variables in the decision-making process [4,25,36].…”

“…The prioritization of barriers to be solved in the implementation of reverse logistics of e-waste, in the Brazilian context, considering the opinion of SMEs (small and medium companies), consumers, and government under an MCDA perspective was performed by [36]. The study of relevant factors in the implementation of end-of-life computer recycling in reverse supply chains was approached by [43].…”