Environmental and economical sustainability of WEEE closed-loop supply chains with recycling: a system dynamics analysis

Nowadays, the worldwide production of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is consequently increasing, reducing both resources and landfills. In this manuscript, we investigate the significance of the factors that comprise the environmental sustainability strategies (environmental legislation and green image) and the operational features of the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) (chain's features, products' features and economic parameters), their interactions and the type of their impact on the environmental (availability of natural resources and landfill availability) and economical sustainability of a WEEE CLSC. We use an extension of a System Dynamics-based model of a CLSC with recycling activities introduced by Georgiadis and Besiou [J Clean Prod 16(15):1665–1678, 2008]. The developed model is validated using data from a real-world CLSC of EEE in Greece. Extended numerical investigation provides insights to the managers of the WEEE CLSC and the legislators with regard to the actions which can lead to sustainability.

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