Location-Allocation Model of Recycling Facilities – A Case Study of Seremban, Malaysia

Abstract

Sustainable municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is a necessity in any country. One of the modules is recycling practice, where this would directly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. Recycling represents the reverse logistic module that requires high engagement from municipal waste generators, especially at the residential level. This engagement could be gained by providing an optimal number of recycling facilities at the strategic location. These recycling facilities, such as public recycling bins, could improve the recycling rates. At the same time, it reduced the operational costs of the respective authorities to sort the collected waste. For this reason, this study proposed a recycling facility location-allocation model in an urban area. The model is developed by utilizing the classic facility location problem approach, i.e., covering the model with capacity consideration. The proposed model is then applied in Seremban, i.e., an urban area in Malaysia. As result, it is found that the proposed model can determine the optimal location-allocation for the recycling bins to cover the area of study.