Waste recycling through a decentralized network of mobile facilities

Mobile and modular recycling facilities have been developed in recent years, which can promote both the expansion of recycling capacity and the decentralization of waste treatment. Due to the miniaturization of these recycling units and their installation in standard containers, it is possible to relocate them from site to site at short notice, allowing for a more agile response to spatial and temporal waste generation. The planning of such a network involves the integration of location, production, and transport decisions. Therefore, this article presents a mixed-integer programming model to plan the relocation of the mobile recycling units so that the total costs of transport, recycling, and facility relocation are minimized. In addition, the economic value and environmental impact of mobile recycling networks are investigated through a sensitivity analysis, showing the benefit of movable recycling capacities. A case study analysis reveals that deploying modular units reduces overall recycling costs by about 10%, although extra costs are required to operate and relocate the mobile recycling units.