Circular Economy in Winter Road Maintenance: A Simulation Study

Florence Blouin (), Jean-François Audy and Amina Lamghari
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Florence Blouin: Department of Management, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada
Jean-François Audy: Department of Management, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada
Amina Lamghari: Department of Management, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: This study analyzes the sustainability of the circular economy model on winter road maintenance. Winter road maintenance involves plowing snow, spreading abrasives, and then sweeping and collecting the remaining abrasives at the end of the winter season. Traditionally, in the linear approach, the collected sweepings are landfilled, which incurs landfilling costs for resources that could be reused. To address this issue, we consider the option of recycling sweepings for use in the following winter seasons. We develop a discrete-event simulation model that estimates the economic and environmental benefits of this option. Using data from a case study of a highway in Quebec, Canada, the model shows that introducing circular economy practices in winter road maintenance results in less material going to landfills, lower costs, less use of aggregates from virgin materials, and lower CO 2 emissions compared to the linear approach. A subsequent sensitivity analysis reveals that the quantity of sweepings collected greatly influences the outcomes.

Keywords: circular economy; discrete-event simulation; sustainability; operations management; winter road maintenance; waste minimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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