Decision Making Supporting Tool Combining AHP Method with GIS for Implementing Food Waste Valorisation Strategies

Abstract

Food waste shows great potential to be valorised as secondary material for bio-products, animal feed or energy production. However, the geographical dispersion of food waste generation requires the selection of appropriate locations and the optimization of logistics routes for a centralized food waste management solution. Thus, since the viability of food waste valorisation options depends on a high number of technical, geographic, economic and environmental criteria, all of those must be together quantified, weighed and assessed to assure a successful implementation of the selected valorisation option. Within the framework of Life GISWASTE project (http://www.lifegiswaste.eu), a MCDA tool has been developed to help decision-makers (private or public waste management bodies and companies) to implement food waste valorisation strategies. This tool implements AHP method and GIS to evaluate the main parameters involved in the process. The use of GISWASTE tool allows creating scenarios with the food waste generators that achieve the minimum values stablished for technical criteria (net scenarios). Once the net scenarios have been created, geographic optimization and main economic and environmental impacts can be preliminarily calculated and reported. GISWASTE tool decreases considerably the time required to evaluate the different scenarios for each study case, as well as facilitating a sensitivity study when geographic, technical, economic and environmental criteria values are modified. Hence, as well as reducing the risk associated with the implementation of food waste valorisation strategies, it also helps to public waste management authorities or private organisms to define bio-economy based waste valorisation strategies. Finally, as an example of GISWASTE tool usefulness, this paper also shows the validation results of a real case study performed for anaerobic digestion valorisation option in the Basque Country region (Spain).