An integrated system dynamics and MCDM approach for the evaluation of mobile phones’ waste management in Turkey

Sustainability concept is very crucial issue nowadays because of not only increasing wastes but also scarcity of resources. Wastes of electric and electronic equipment include a large amount of recyclable components which are not effectively recycled in Turkey even though Turkey is a country whose recovery and recycling targets are regulated in formal directives. One of them is the category of mobile phones whose increasing demand also produces a high number of waste due to end-of -life and intentionally changed mobile phones. As mobile phones’ wastes in Turkey are not well-treated, the consequences can be severe economically and environmentally. The aim of this paper is to analyse the current waste management system of mobile phones in Turkey and conducting a model to decide which recovery options should be used. The current state will be simulated via system dynamics model and every actor will be included such as producers, distributers, end-users, municipalities and also recycling facilities. After simulation, a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach will lead to a preference of different types of recovery options such as reusing, remanufacturing or recycling. This integrated system will be a guideline for mobile phones’ waste management system and it can be extended to different sectors and countries in future studies.