Agent-Based Model for End-of-Life Product Flow Analysis

• Main Authors: Alexandre Labelle, Jean-Marc Frayret
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-07-01
• Series: Resources
• Subjects: municipal solid waste; consumer behavior; agent-based modeling; simulation; deposit-return program; end-of-life product flow; recycling
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/7/3/42

This paper presents an agent-based simulation model for end-of-life product flow analysis in recuperation and recycling supply networks that focuses on individual consumer behaviors. The simulation model is applied to a deposit-return program on wine bottles that could be developed in the province of Quebec. Canadian data was used to calibrate and validate the model. A series of experiments was then conducted with three artificial populations to analyse how they would react to several implementation scenarios of this end-of-life product flow strategy. The results suggest that the distance to the nearest depot is an important decision factor, but less predominant than the ownership of a private vehicle and the deposit value. The results also indicate that the use of agent-based modeling combined with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) can produce modular behavior models, that are intuitive and simple, to better understand consumer-behavior-driven supply chains. Such models can be used to give insights to decision-makers and policy-makers about the potential performance of end-of-life product flows strategies and further facilitate efficient resource management.