A Parallel Reverse Logistics Model for Waste Management with Waste Sorting Behavior

Abstract

Greatly increase of municipal solid waste (MSW) generation has resulted serious environmental pollution, resources consumption and health problems, which promotes the its disposal stream transfer to recycle and reuse. In this paper, the advanced MSW disposal technologies combination are developed to dispose MSW and convert it into clean products. Simulatively, the waste sorting behavior and carbon tax have considered into the paper to explore and examinable the feasibility of policies. A parallel reverse logistics is developed to reflect the whole process of WtE, after which a parallelized optimization model is proposed to achieve the waste reduction, and cost and pollutant control. A practical case study is then conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed methodology and to examine the performance and benefit of different waste sorting behaviors through decision making perspectively. Scenario analyses with different residents’ participation level under the sorting subsidies are conducted and some important conclusions and suggestions are summarized and given. The paper found technology combination and waste sorting are efficiently regulate MSW which achieved the goals of environmental protection, resources saving and social sustainable.

Appendix

Notation

Sets:

$\mathbb {I}$::

Set of population centers, $\mathbb {I}=\{1,2,\cdots ,I\}$.

$\mathbb {J}$::

Set of transfer stations, $\mathbb {J}=\{1,2,\cdots ,J\}$.

$\mathbb {R}$::

Set of MSW disposal facilities with technology of landfill Gas to Energy (LFGTE), incineration (INC) or Anaerobic Digestion (AD), $\mathbb {R}=\{1,2,\cdots ,R\}$.

$\mathbb {K}$::

Set of MSW Components, $\mathbb {R}=\{1,2,\cdots ,K\}$.

Indices:

i::

Population centers index.

j::

Transfer stations index.

r::

MSW disposal facilities index.

k::

MSW Components index.

Decision variables:

$Q_{ij}$::

Quantity of MSW from population centers i to transfer station j in TRL.

${Q'}_{ij}^k$::

Quantity of waste with component k from population centers i to transfer station j in NRL.

$Q_{jr}^k$::

Quantity of waste component k from transfer station j to MSW disposal facility r in TRL.

${Q'}_{jr}^k$::

Quantity of waste component k from transfer station j to MSW disposal facility r in NRL.

$Q_r^k$, ${Q'}_r^k$::

Amount of waste component k disposal by facility r in two scenarios.

$x_j, x'_j$::

$x_j, x'_j = 1$ if site j is chosen; $x_j, x'_j = 0$ otherwise.

$x_r$::

$x_r = 1$ if facility r is chosen; $x_r = 0$ otherwise.

Certain parameters:

UCC::

Unit MSW collection cost.

$UTC^{st}$::

Unit MSW transportation cost using small truck.

$UTC^{bt}$::

Unit MSW transportation cost using big truck.

$FC_j$::

Unit fixed cost for transfer station j in TRL.

${FC'}_j$::

Unit fixed cost for transfer station j in NRL.

$UO{C_j}$::

Unit variable operational cost for transfer station j in TRL.

${UOC'}_j$::

Unit variable operational cost for transfer station j in NRL.

$F{C_r}$::

Unit fixed cost for MSW disposal facilities r.

$UOC_r^k$::

Unit variable disposal cost for MSW component k disposal by facility r.

UMVmanage::

Unit waste management fee to be paid by residents from collection site.

$UMVrecl^k$::

Unit market value of the waste component k.

UMVelect::

Unit revenue from the sale of the electricity.

$d_{ij}$::

Distance from population centers i to transfer station j.

$d_{jr}$::

Distance from transfer station j to MSW disposal facility r.

$d_{r4}$::

Distance from MSW disposal facility r to landfill site.

$UTE^{st}$::

Unit transportation GHG emission using small truck.

$UTE^{bt}$::

Unit transportation GHG emission using big truck.

$USE_j$::

Unit GHG emission associated with transfer station j in TRL.

${USE'}_j$::

Unit GHG emission associated with transfer station j in NRL.

$UPE_r^k$::

Unit carbon emission associated with MSW component k disposal by facility r.

$UMY^k$::

Unit methane yield of the waste component k.

$BREC_r$::

Biogas recovery efficiency in facility r.

$EEConv_r$::

Electric energy conversion efficiency of facility r.

$LHV^k$::

Lower heating value of MSW component k.

$Cap_j$::

Capacity of transfer station j in TRL.

${Cap'}_j$::

Capacity of transfer station j in NRL.

$Cap_r$::

Capacity of disposal facilities r.

$CR^k$::

Proportion of waste component k in TRL.

$\alpha _r^k$::

Recovery/processing efficiency in facility r for component k.

$\lambda$::

Separation efficiency.

$y_{r}^k$::

$y_{r}^k = 1$ if waste component k can be disposed by facility r which limited in TRL;

$y_{r}^k = 0$ otherwise.

${y'}_{r}^k$::

${y'}_{r}^k = 1$ if waste component k can be disposed by facility r which limited in NRL; ${y'}_{r}^k = 0$ otherwise.

s::

Unit classification subsidy for residents in NRL.

$Q_i$::

Amount of waste generated from population site i in TRL.

${Q'}_i^k$::

Amount of waste component k generated from population site i in NRL.