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This paper presents a comprehensive content analysis-based literature review of studies on Inventory Routing Problem incorporating sustainability-related aspects. A total of 40 journal articles are selected from Web of Science and Google Scholar databases, and are reviewed by categorizing them into single-objective and multiple-objective models. The review suggests that studies with single-objective models covered areas including waste management (in reverse logistics models), returnable transport item management (in closed-loop supply chain models), waste prevention and reduction (in models with perishable products), and emission reduction (in models with emission caps and carbon price). Studies on reverse logistics are limited to collecting and storing waste at a collection site, while including waste processing and disposal operations could make them more applicable. Studies on closed-loop supply chains are few with a focus on managing returnable transportation items. Future studies could consider remanufacturing, recycling and disposal of products for efficient waste management. Most of the papers in logistics of perishable products considered waste prevention rather than waste reduction. Previous studies related to emission reduction using carbon policies mainly focused on emissions from transportation. Including emissions from other logistics operations could be useful from a practical perspective. Relatively few studies developed multi-objective models. Environmental objectives in multi-objective models focused on minimizing total emissions. Few studies considered social objectives related to minimizing inventory of hazardous material and infectious medical waste, and improving customer satisfaction. Other social aspects such as those related to traffic congestion and job creation could be considered in future studies. Furthermore, application of efficient models and solution approaches to real case studies could be valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies primarily suggest that the generation of medical wastes maintains a positive relationship with national incomes. In contrast, higher incomes may lead to improved health status, consequently resulting in lower generation of medical wastes. Under this circumstance, an inverted U-shaped curve may be used to describe the generation of medical wastes along with economic growth. Additionally, illegal disposal is believed to have a high impact on human health. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the presence of the environmental Kuznets curve for both the generation and illegal disposal of medical wastes by using a model of the environmental Kuznets curve. The results find the generation of medical wastes is positively affected by incomes, but this paper identifies the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve phenomenon for illegal disposal. Both the generation and illegal disposal of medical wastes are positively affected by medical capacity but negatively affected by medical policy. The primary contributions of this paper are three-fold. First, this paper is the first to focus on the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve phenomenon for both the generation and the illegal disposal of medical wastes. Second, this paper confirms the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve for the illegal disposal of medical wastes. Illegal disposal may be blocked when national incomes reach a specific level, and thus, the government may focus on the formulation of medical policy to encourage reduced demand for medical care. Third, this paper finds that the implementation of medical policy may have an important effect on inhibiting the generation and illegal disposal of medical wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A safe and effective medical waste transport network is beneficial to control the COVID-19 pandemic and at least decelerate the spread of novel coronavirus. Seldom studies concentrated on a two-phase COVID-19 medical waste transport in the presence of multi-type vehicle selection, sustainability, and infection probability, which is the focus of this paper. This paper aims to identify the priority of sustainable objectives and observe the impacts of multi-phase and infection probability on the results. Thus, such a problem is formulated as a mixed-integer programming model to minimise total potential infection risks, minimise total environmental risks, and maximise total economic benefits. Then, a hybrid solution strategy is designed, incorporating a lexicographic optimisation approach and a linear weighted sum method. A real-world case study from Chongqing is used to illustrate this methodology. Results indicate that the solution strategy guides a good COVID-19 medical waste transport scheme within 1 min. The priority of sustainable objectives is society, economy, and environment in the first and second phases because the total Gap of case No.35 is 3.20%. A decentralised decision mode is preferred to design a COVID-19 medical waste transport network at the province level. Whatever the infection probability is, infection risk is the most critical concern in the COVID-19 medical waste clean-up activities. Environmental and economic sustainability performance also should be considered when infection probability is more than a certain threshold. • Two-phase COVID-19 medical waste transport with infection probability is studied. • A mixed-integer programming model to optimise sustainability is formulated. • A hybrid solution strategy is designed to solve the proposed multi-objective model. • The priority of sustainable objectives is society, economy, and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health institutes are structurally growing depending on the population increase and escalating demands for health services. As a negative result, the health industry produces more healthcare waste daily. Its efforts and resources cannot be sufficient to dispose of such medical wastes as the quantity and variety continue to increase. Therefore, developing solution partnership relations with logistics service providers specialized in collecting, storing, and disposing healthcare waste may be a beneficial and fruitful step for solving this problem. However, the evaluation and selection of service suppliers for healthcare waste disposal may not always result in success. Hence, the present work develops a robust integrated methodology on the basis of Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and COmplex PRoportional ASsessment (COPRAS) techniques based on Interval-Valued Fermatean Fuzzy Sets (IVFFSs) for healthcare decision-makers to make more rational and optimal decisions concerning service supplier selection. The proposed model based on the IVFFSs can also overcome incredibly complicated uncertainties in the assessment processes. A large-scale international hospital chain in Turkey is investigated using the developed methodology to find reasonable and logical solutions to assess and select the best Medical Waste Disposal and Logistics (MWDL) firm. It is revealed that the most important criterion is "Storage Conditions" where "Republic Services, Inc" is the most successful supplier of MWDL. Finally, theoretical and practical implications are discussed in detail in order to provide useful managerial insights and decision aids to assist in improving the sustainability of healthcare industry. [Display omitted] • The paper suggests a frame to solve the waste disposal firm selection problems. • The suggested a novel tool the IVFFS-Delphi method to identify the criteria. • The model consisting of the IVFFS-SWARA method to calculate the criteria weights. • The IVFFS-COPRAS technique was applied to determine the preference of the options. • The validity of the presented decision tool is confirmed through a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic not only poses an unprecedented threat to global health but also severely disrupts the natural environment and ecosystems. Mitigating the adverse impacts of plastic-based personal protective equipment (PPE) waste requires the cooperation of professionals from various fields. This paper discusses a novel, cleaner approach to soil stabilisation by repurposing the nitrile gloves into a sustainable road material to improve the mechanical properties of expansive clay soil as pavement subgrade. For the first time, extensive geotechnical testings, including standard compaction, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), unsoaked California bearing ratio (CBR), repeated load triaxial (RLT), and swelling-shrinkage tests, were carried out to investigate the engineering performance of different proportions of the shredded nitrile gloves (SNG) (e.g., 1%, 1.5%, 2%) were blended with expansive clay (EC). In addition, surface roughness, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray micro-CT analyses were conducted, and images were obtained to study the microstructural modification of the EC-SNG mixtures. The experimental results indicated that the blend of expansive clay with SNG helped in increasing the compressive strength, resilient modulus, and CBR and assisted in reducing the swelling and shrinkage of the soil. SEM and surface roughness analyses indicated the interaction between the soil matrix interface and the rough surface of the SNG. The main reasons for increasing the strength and stability of clay soil could be attributed to the high tensile strength of the SNG and the formation of the three-dimensional grid, and friction between the soil particles and SNG. According to the X-ray micro-CT test results, the incorporation of SNG led to an increase in closed porosity. [Display omitted] • An innovative approach to mitigate the problem of medical waste generation associated with COVID-19 is presented. • A cleaner and sustainable subgrade was developed by using discarded nitrile gloves. • The addition of 1.5% SNG to the soil provided the highest strength properties. • SNG reduced the swelling and shrinkage of the expansive clay subgrade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to the increased interest in addressing organisational sustainability issues using behaviour change strategies, this paper aims to propose a methodology for doing so from a different perspective – namely, sociology and social practice theory. Firstly, the background of behaviour change approaches and practice theory are discussed. Then a methodology for conducting a pro-environmental organisational change project is proposed. The methodology involves five key elements: detailed analysis of context, outlining a theoretical framework, establishing project boundaries, acknowledging connectivity of practices and choosing data collection methods. We illustrate the application of methodology by using examples of everyday consumables, energy and waste in a hospital trust in the South East of England. This approach has been effective for analysing routine and inconspicuous consumption within an organisation, as it considers individual attitudes and motivations as well as the structural and habitual nature of communities of practices. It allows researchers and managers to understand workplace consumption issues from several perspectives and identify the best angle from which to approach potential resolutions. • A five-step methodology for an organisational change management project is proposed. • Practice theory helps analyse routine inconspicuous consumption in an organization. • Practice theory helps establish project boundaries and connectivity between practices. • Organisational context and structure can facilitate sustainable workplace consumption. • Energy and waste consumption practices in workplaces rely on habits and routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, municipal authorities especially in the developing nations are battling to select the best health care waste (HCW) disposal technique for the effective treatment of the medical wastes during and post COVID-19 era. As evaluation of various disposal alternatives of HCW and selection of the best technique requires considering various tangible and intangible criteria, this can be framed as multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. In this paper, we propose an assessment framework for the selection of the best HCW disposal technique based on socio-technical and triple bottom line perspectives. We have identified 10 criteria on which the best HCW disposal techniques to be selected based on extant literature review. Next, we use Fuzzy VIKOR method to evaluate 9 HCW disposal alternatives. The effectiveness of the proposed framework has been demonstrated with a real-life case study in Indian context. To check the robustness of the proposed methodology, we have compared the results obtained with Fuzzy TOPSIS (Technique of Order Preference Similarity to the Ideal Solution). The results help the municipal authorities to establish a methodical approach to choose the best HCW disposal techniques. Our findings indicate that incineration is the best waste disposal technique among the available alternatives. Even if the dataset indicates 'incineration' is the best method, we must not forget about the environmental concerns arising from this method. In COVID time, incineration may be the best method as indicated by the data analysis, but "COVID" should not be an excuse for causing "Environmental Pollution". • Health care waste disposal technique selection is a serious concern during COVID-19. • We propose Fuzzy VIKOR based method for selecting the best disposal technique. • This work has been grounded on Triple Bottom Line and Socio-Technical perspectives. • The proposed framework has been validated with a real-life case study. • The effectiveness of the proposed method has been compared with Fuzzy TOPSIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generation of healthcare waste from different patient care activities in hospitals, pathology labs and research centres has been a matter of great concern for environmental and social bodies across the world. This concern comes from its infectious and hazardous nature which brings life taking disease such as human immunodeficiency virus and Hepatitis-B. Moreover, with the outbreak of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic across the world, healthcare waste has become even more infectious like never before and showing its potential for claiming lives if not disposed properly. Additionally, the COVID-19 has put up another challenge in terms of exponentially increasing demand for personal protective equipments for healthcare workers such as doctors, nurses, ward boys, and sanitation workers. In this paper, seven criteria related to smart healthcare waste disposal system infused by circular economy aspects to recover value from disposables are identified and analysed using a decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The criteria have been prioritized by its importance and net cause and effect relationship through a causal diagram. Two criteria, (i) digitally connected healthcare centres, waste disposal firms and pollution control board, and (ii) providing a pollution control board's feedback app to public and other stakeholders, feature as strong reasons for a smart healthcare waste disposal system. Conclusively, this study provides a causal relationship model among the intertwined drivers of industry 4.0 and circular economy for developing a smart healthcare waste disposal system enriched with the benefits of circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]