Integrated design of a sustainable waste management system with co-modal transportation network: A robust bi-level decision support system

Abstract

Efficient waste management practices play a critical role in addressing the acute challenges of environmental protection, public health and resource conservation. A well-designed system guarantees that waste is efficiently collected, treated and disposed while minimizing negative impacts on ecosystems and human well-being. This work presents a robust bi-level decision support system to establish a sustainable waste management system using a co-modal transportation network to treat municipal solid waste timely and efficiently. Consequently, two integrated multi-objective mathematical models are developed to formulate the problem. Configuring the municipal solid waste network in the first level of the suggested decision support system, the transportation network is designed in the second level taking into account non-identical modes. The objectives are to minimize total cost and total emission in both levels, while maximization of total job creation is also addressed in the first level. Robust optimization method and weighted goal programming method are then utilized to accommodate the developed decision support system against uncertainty and multi-objectiveness, respectively. To validate the efficiency of these methods, they are assessed against possibilistic linear programming technique and Lp-metric approach with the help of simple additive weighting (SAW) method, respectively. Eventually, several numerical examples are generated based on the benchmarks given in the literature, which are then tackled using CPLEX solve to appraise the applicability and complexity of the developed methodology. The findings reveal the efficacy of the decision support system in terms of finding solutions in less than 448 s on average. Finally, sensitivity analyses are performed to draw out useful practical implications and decision aids.