Three-Stage Model Based Evaluation Of Local Residents' Acceptance Towards Waste-To-Energy Incineration Project Under Construction: A Chinese Perspective

Incineration is an efficient and economical means of solid waste disposal. And local residents' acceptance has to be acquired for the smooth going of waste-to-energy incineration project (WTEIP). From a Chinese perspective, this paper finds what influence local residents' acceptance towards WTEIP under construction, based on which we rank WTEIPs and figure out the project with the least local residents' acceptance. To achieve this, a three-stage model is developed. Stage 1 involves identifying the criteria based on the expert judgement for local residents' acceptance towards WTEIP under construction. Stage 2 involves the criteria weights determination employing Best Worst-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (BWD). BWD incorporates Best Worst Method and Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory which is intended to take the interrelationships among the criteria into account. Stage 3 involves project ranking according to the criteria weights determined by BWD. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to check the effectiveness and robustness of the three-stage model. Results show that perceived risk-free is the most influential criterion of local residents' acceptance towards WTEIP under construction and the three-stage model is reliable and robust. The study is helpful to enhance local residents' acceptance towards WTEIP under construction and provide important reference for decision-makers and policymakers in waste management. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.