Solid waste recovery logistics networks in Mexico: a macroscopic analysis using geographic information systems

Abstract

Managing municipal solid waste is one of the most significant challenges for cities in emerging economies, given the increasing level of generation and the low level of recovery. It is a topic of interest for different disciplines, including waste management, logistics, supply chains, Urban Logistics, and Circular Economy. The solid waste recovery logistic networks are the ones through which waste is moved, and recovery operations are carried out. The analysis through geographic information systems makes it possible to relate the network operations with the characteristics of the space in which they are developed. A statistical vision also supports this relationship. This article presents the results of an analysis of the recoverable waste recovery logistics network in the Metropolitan Area of the Mexico Valley. The recovery network is made up of enterprises whose activities are the collection and sale of recoverable waste. Thousands of tons of waste are moved through the recovery network: the nodes are micro-enterprises that employ thousands of workers. The network operates under geospatial conditions that characterize its operation, including distribution, spatial concentration, and growth patterns. The analysis with geographic information systems provides a vision of the complexity of the network, for example, the operation of the network at different levels and scales, regularities that denote self-organization, and the presence of nodes that influence the network’s structure.