title: Research challenges in municipal solid waste logistics management.
abstract: During the last two decades, EU legislation has put increasing pressure on member countries to achieve specified recycling targets for municipal household waste. These targets can be obtained in various ways choosing collection methods, separation methods, decentral or central logistic systems, etc. This paper compares municipal solid waste (MSW) management practices in various EU countries to identify the characteristics and key issues from a waste management and reverse logistics point of view. Further, we investigate literature on modelling municipal solid waste logistics in general. Comparing issues addressed in literature with the identified issues in practice result in a research agenda for modelling municipal solid waste logistics in Europe. We conclude that waste recycling is a multi-disciplinary problem that needs to be considered at different decision levels simultaneously. A holistic view and taking into account the characteristics of different waste types are necessary when modelling a reverse supply chain for MSW recycling.
authors.affiliation: Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, PO Box 8130, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Xiaoyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bing
authors.affiliation: Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, PO Box 8130, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: jacqueline.bloemhof@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Jacqueline M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bloemhof
authors.affiliation: Instituto Universitario de Lisboa, Av. das Forcas Armadas, 1649026 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Tania Rodrigues Pereira
authors.initials: TRP
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Roveisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana Paula
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Barbosa-Povoa
authors.affiliation: Center for Operations and Supply Chain Research, Leeds University Business School, Maurice Keyworth Building, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chee Yew
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, PO Box 8130, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jack G A J
authors.initials: JGAJ
authors.lastname: van der Vorst
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D005060:Europe; D005062:European Union; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D059027:Recycling / Q000379:methods*; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends*; D062611:Solid Waste; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D062611:Solid Waste
keywords: Household waste; Modelling; Recycling; Reverse logistics; Review; Sustainability