Development of an Integrated Decision Support Framework for Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management using Multi Attribute Decision-Making Techniques
Keywords:
Municipal Solid Waste Management, Multi-Attribute Decision-Making (MADM), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), TOPSIS, Sustainable Infrastructure, Circular EconomyAbstract
The exponential growth of urban populations has transformed Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) into a multidimensional challenge that necessitates the reconciliation of conflicting technical, economic, and environmental objectives. This research presents the development of an integrated decision-support framework designed to facilitate the selection of sustainable waste management strategies through the application of Multi-Attribute Decision-Making (MADM) techniques. The study utilizes a hybrid methodology, employing the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to establish the relative importance of sustainability criteria and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to rank four primary management alternatives: Baseline Landfilling (A1), Material Recovery and Composting (A2), Waste-to-Energy (A3), and an Integrated Sustainable Resource Management system (A4).
Evaluated across five core dimensions—Technical Reliability, Economic Viability, Environmental Impact, Social Acceptance, and Resource Recovery Potential—the framework incorporates high-resolution waste characterization data and longitudinal life-cycle cost simulations. Results indicate that the Integrated Sustainable Resource Management system (A4) emerged as the most resilient alternative, achieving a closeness coefficient of 0.821, primarily due to its superior balance between energy recovery and greenhouse gas mitigation. The study reveals that environmental impact remains the most critical decision-making attribute, carrying a priority weight of 34.2%. Furthermore, the integrated approach demonstrated a potential 81.2% reduction in Global Warming Potential compared to conventional landfilling. This research provides municipal authorities and urban planners with a transparent, mathematically rigorous tool to "future-proof" waste infrastructure, bridging the gap between theoretical decision science and the practical requirements of the circular economy.
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