Systems Engineering Principles for Solid Waste Management

Since the 1980s, the concept of integrated solid waste management (ISWM) system has emerged as the best strategy to manage waste streams through a holistic approach. Because collection, treatment, recovery, and disposal are flexibly arranged, system boundaries may vary from time to time with respect to many internal and external factors. The concept of system of systems (SoS) engineering provides a soft, flexible approach that allows both internal and external factors from global to local scales to influence decision-making in planning, design, and operation stages for waste management. Blending ISWM, SoS, and internal/external factors allow us to elucidate the pros and cons of centralized versus decentralized systems. This chapter approaches ISWM problems from systems engineering perspectives by presenting and discussing methods and strategies to adapt ISWM to various global change impacts in a sustainable way.