Optimizing the e-waste management in India: a sustainable mathematical modeling approach to circular economy

Wajahat Ali ()
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Wajahat Ali: Marwadi University

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2025, vol. 59, issue 5, No 31, 4647-4678

Abstract: Abstract The exponential growth of electronic waste (e-waste) in India, driven by rapid technological advancements and consumer demand, poses significant environmental, economic, and social challenges. This study develops a multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model to optimize e-waste management while aligning with circular economy principles. The proposed model minimizes total cost (₹1154.35), maximizes resource recovery (₹1542.82), and reduces environmental impact (₹1378.90). Using a Goal Programming (GP) approach, the study balances these conflicting objectives, ensuring a 26.9% cost reduction, 40.4% increase in resource recovery, and 30.3% lower environmental impact than traditional heuristic methods. A benchmark analysis against three traditional methods—Rule-Based Heuristic, Linear Programming, and Greedy Cost-Minimization—demonstrates the superiority of the proposed approach. While the Greedy Model achieves the lowest cost (₹978.10), it significantly increases environmental impact (₹2451.98) and limits resource recovery (₹835.21). The Rule-Based Heuristic and Linear Programming models perform better but fail to optimize all three objectives simultaneously. The MILP-GP model integrates economic, environmental, and operational considerations, proving its effectiveness as a practical and scalable decision-support tool for sustainable e-waste management in India.

Keywords: E-waste management; Mixed-integer linear programming; Circular economy; Goal programming; Mathematical modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-025-02176-w

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