Managerial fuzzy optimal planning for solid-waste management systems

The emphasis on waste reduction and recycling requirements prior to incineration and the promulgation of Good Combustion Practice (GCP) for emission control of trace organic compounds during incineration have created conflicting solid-waste management goals. The most critical questions in system planning include: to what extent are recycling and incineration compatible? And what are the subsequent economic impacts on the private and public sectors under specific management scenarios? However, the inherent complexity of composition, generation, and heat value of the waste streams as well as the stability of the secondary material market may result in additional difficulties in management decision making. This paper presents a nonlinear fuzzy goal programming approach for solving such questions. In particular, it demonstrates how fuzzy, or imprecise, objectives of the decision makers can be quantified through the use of specific membership functions in various types of management-planning scenarios.