A Group Decision Support System to Share Responsibilities Towards a Circular Economy Transition for Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries

Abstract

The growing generation of solid waste in developing countries is a problem with environmental, social, and economic impacts that draws the attention of authorities since it is associated with the results that countries present with its economic activities and the consumption of natural resources. In Brazil, for example, public authorities sanctioned the Brazilian National Solid Waste Policy that extends the responsibility for solid waste management to all segments of society through reverse logistics actions. On the other hand, the linear model of managing waste in Brazil (production-consumption-disposal) does not absorb anymore the amount of waste generated. In this sense, a transition to a circular model (production-consumption-reintroduction) must occur to proper management of the waste generated to environmental, economic, and social collapses may be avoided. However, the responsibilities' definition is a conflictual situation because it is group decision-making between segments that present different perspectives and objectives. Moreover, the current way of defining responsibilities and allocating their costs has been a point of dissatisfaction in Brazilian society. Thus, this study aimed to propose a group decision support system to develop actions, define responsibilities and allocate costs between the segments fairly to promote the transition to a circular economy model. The system is based on the combination of Problem Structuring Method, FITradeoff method, and Shapley value. A case study with packaging is presented to validate the system. The results showed that the system made the segments reach mutually acceptable decisions on actions, responsibilities, and allocated costs. Furthermore, it promoted their satisfaction and commitment to action implementation.