Development of a municipal solid waste management model from the persective under uncertainty

In this study, an interval two-stage stochastic programming (ITSP) method is proposed for regional solid waste system management system under uncertainty. The ITSP approach can incorporate random events with punishment policies when the promised allowable waste loading is exceeded. An ITSP-based solid waste system management model is developed with an objective of minimizing economic cost in landfill and waste-to-energy (WTE) facility, which include operation, transportation, expansion costs and revenue. A case study in the city of Baotou, China is developed to manage the solid waste system. Three scenarios associated with different economic incentives are employed for analyzing the optimized solutions based on the preference of decision-makers. Under scenario without subsidy, the total system cost would be from 164.13 to 234.37 million yuan, however, due to the national policy subsidies, WTE would make profit and the total system cost would be negative (e.g. from -83.15 to -17.66 million yuan). The results indicated that a higher waste flow to landfill corresponds with a higher system cost, while more wastes transported to WTE facility lead to a lower economic cost. Financial subsidies for WTE facility could compensate the system loss and promote garbage resource utilization to some extent.