Constructing small WEEE collection system in Istanbul: A decision support system and conceptual design proposal

The technological advances decrease electrical/electronic product lifecycles and boost consumption of high-tech products. The rapid growth in the electronic market produces electronic waste streams and potential threats arise on sustainability in terms of depleting natural resources and improper disposal. End-of-life electrical/electronic equipment (EEEs) involves complex mixture of materials, has hazardous content, and if not properly disposed, they can cause major environmental and health problems. To prevent the consequences of improper disposal, authorities and researchers conduct large-scale projects aligned with European unio‎n legislations. However, these efforts are still not sufficient to establish effective and organized systems due to the problem complexity and the need for specialized arrangements. This study proposes conceptual decision support framework and a bi-objective mathematical model to construct an effective collection network for end-of-life mobile phones. A real case study is presented for constructing an effective collection system in Istanbul. The main reason that we select Istanbul, is the requirement of urgency to deal with the large quantities of e-wastes. The result of this study will encourage academicians to conduct further research studies and strongly assist the authorities to configure well-structured e-waste collection system.