Abstract
One of the recent problems on waste sorting systems is their performance evaluation for proper decision making and management. For this purpose, multi-criteria methods can be used to evaluate the sorting system from both operational and financial perspectives. According to a recent literature review, there are no solutions for evaluating waste sorting systems that take into account: sorting point utilisation, sorting efficiency, waste stream irregularity, and technical system availability. In addition, the problem of data uncertainty and the need to use expert judgements indicate the need for the implementation of methods adjusted to the qualitative and quantitative assessment, such as the fuzzy approach. Following this, in order to overcome the presented limitations, the authors introduced the new assessment method for waste sorting systems based on multi-criteria model implementation and fuzzy theory use. Therefore, the developed model was based on a hierarchical fuzzy logic model for which appropriate membership function parameters and inference rules were defined. The specificity of the chosen assessment criteria and their justification was provided. The model has been implemented to evaluate one of the waste sorting plants in Wroclaw, Poland. Tests have been conducted for seven different configurations of waste sorting lines (with variable input parameters). The study focuses on analysing the amount of selected waste at each station in relation to the total stream size of each fraction. Efficiency was measured by the mass of the collected waste and the number of pieces of waste in each fraction. Based on the obtained results, estimations of particular parameters of the model were made, and the results were presented and commented on. It was shown that there is a significant relationship between the level of system evaluation and sorting efficiency and an inverse relationship with the level of RDF obtained. The analysis was based on Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient estimation and linear regression implementation.
Highlights
Socio-economic development determines an increase in the intensity of material consumption on a global scale
In Reference [27], the authors evaluated the limitations of using published partition coefficient datasets to model the sorting performance of mechanical unit operations commonly found in material recovery facilities (MRFs)
The present paper aims to develop a multi-criteria evaluation method that considers the different parameters of a system evaluation
Summary
Socio-economic development determines an increase in the intensity of material consumption on a global scale. This increase occurs despite the orientation of the economy towards the rationalisation of production, services, and technologies. One of the problems presented as an obstacle to achieving the required recovery levels is the lack of modern solutions in the available infrastructure. Is necessary to develop innovative solutions and technologies to increase the effectiveness of the waste sorting process and improve the current management. An effective measure to reduce the amount of waste generated is to switch from the traditional linear to the circular economy model [4,5]. The remaining amount is subordinated to the traditional model, in which end-of-life objects become part of reverse logistics
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