Title: Proposing a novel integrated OPA-MARCOS multi-criteria decision making model to choose the best plastic recycling method (case study)

Authors: Alireza Keshtpour; Elham Shadkam; Hooman Khorsand Beheshti

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khayyam University, Mashhad, Iran ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khayyam University, Mashhad, Iran ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khayyam University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract: Due to the rapid reduction of natural resources and adverse global environmental changes, it is necessary to preserve natural resources and protect the environment. There are various ways to recycle plastic. Choosing the best plastic recycling method is a multi-criteria decision-making problem. This research investigated the output of reference research and then resolved it using 17 multi-criteria decision-making methods (such as MAIRCA, ELECTRE I, II, etc.). Then, it examined and compared the answers obtained from these methods. Finally, this study evaluated and ranked plastic recycling methods using the combined OPA-MARCOS method, a combination of the OPA for weighting, and the MARCOS method for ranking the alternatives. The innovation of this research is that it combined the OPA and MARCOS methods for the first time and presented a new model. Finally, after solving the OPA-MARCOS model, the second alternative, i.e., mechanical recycling, is selected as the priority alternative. The results suggested that the multi-criteria decision-making methods and weighting methods used in this study can be used for multi-criteria decision-making in other cases.

Keywords: ordinal priority approach; OPA; MARCOS; multi-criteria decision making; MCDM; OPA-MARCOS; plastic recycling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMOR.2023.135542

International Journal of Mathematics in Operational Research, 2023 Vol.26 No.4, pp.449 - 474

Received: 01 Oct 2022
Accepted: 16 Oct 2022
Published online: 18 Dec 2023 *

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