Designing a sustainable dynamic collection service for WEEE: an economic and environmental analysis through simulation.

The integration of economic and environmental objectives is crucial in the waste collection sector, especially for flows characterized by a high economic value like waste from electric and electronic equipment (WEEE). WEEE needs a complex and flexible reverse logistics system to face high uncertainty and variability of waste flows, while keeping a high efficiency. A few efforts in the literature have focused on planning an efficient collection service on a local scale. In this paper, a simulation-based methodology is adopted to compare different alternatives for a WEEE collection service in Italy. A dynamic collection scheme (i.e. with variable collection frequencies based on the actual level of waste flow) is simulated in two different logistics configurations, i.e. one based on direct connection and one based on an "hub-and-spoke" network. The impact of adopting electric vehicles is also evaluated. Alternatives are compared through economic and environmental key performance indicators to assess the level of sustainability. Results show the advantages of a "hub-and-spoke" configuration with the use of electric vehicles.