Focus Group Survey

Hello:
You are cordially invited to participate in our survey on a Municipal Solid Waste Management Sustainability Index model. An AHP-based comprehensive assessment model was developed in order to compute a single score sustainability index that evaluates the sustainability of the Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) system of a given city. As the first step, an appropriate hierarchy of the AHP model consisting of the goal, strategic factors, five primary decision criteria and eighteen sub-criteria that have been assigned due to their thematic affinity to the goal and the alternative technologies that are related to the goal was formulated. The sub-criteria for environmental impact are habitat conservation, environmental emissions, water resources, land use, and human health. The sub-criteria for social acceptance are political concern, public acceptance, and social welfare. The sub-criteria of technical feasibility are applicability, lifetime/site capacity, ease of monitoring, reliability and maintenance. The sub-criteria for Total life cycle cost are capital costs, operational costs, market availability, electricity demand/bills and land value drop. The last level includes six MSWM technologies to be evaluated, namely landfilling, composting, anaerobic digestion, incineration, RDF (Refuse derived fuel) and MRF (Material Recovery Facility). The AHP method and 9-scale pairwise comparison were utilized to determine weights of the criteria in different hierarchies. In order to weigh the criteria a survey was prepared and three experts on MSWM were asked to fill out the survey according to their expertise on the matter of concern. The relative weights of each criterion and sub-criterion were evaluated using a linguistic measure of importance. Then basic input data were collected for all sub-criteria from the municipality of the city of concern. Once the scores for each sub-criterion were computed, the weights and scores were aggregated to establish a ranking of alternatives, the maximum value of which was to be considered the preferred alternative. Sensitivity analysis was also performed by using the Expert Choice software in order to evaluate potential improvements to the MSWMSI. The model has been implemented on various case studies to calculate the current sustainability index and for scenarios in order to improve the MSWMSI (Municipal Solid Waste Management Sustainability Index) This model allowed to integrate large amount of information on interrelated parameters and the sustainability indicators in the whole life cycle into one value that is useful for a general or a comparative judgment and helpful in MSWM decision making. It is acknowledged that every city might have its own set of criteria depending on the perceptions of the decision makers. The fact that the weighting assigned to each component in the model is dependent on the decision makers’ evaluations enables the model to be tailored to any city of concern. The model allows the user to readily determine the relative contribution of each criterion or sub-criterion to the final MSWM selection. It is convenient to use and the computations can be run utilizing available specialized software as well as computing by hand.

In this survey, approximately 25 people will be asked to complete a survey that asks questions about the validity of the model. It will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete the questionnaire.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. There are no foreseeable risks associated with this project. However, if you feel uncomfortable answering any questions, you can withdraw from the survey at any point. It is very important for us to learn your opinions.

Your survey responses will be strictly confidential and data from this research will be reported only in the aggregate. Your information will be coded and will remain confidential. If you have questions at any time about the survey or the procedures, you may contact [Name of Survey Researcher] at [Phone Number] or by email at the email address specified below.

Thank you very much for your time and support. Please start with the survey now by clicking on the Continue button below.

I Agree

Does the model provide a good communication platform for decision makers? Comments/Suggestions:

Do you see any flaws in the weighting of the criteria or sub-criteria?Comments/Suggestions:

If you were to make a decision on MSWM system of a city, would you add or remove any parameters to be covered to ensure success? Comments/Suggestions:

Is the MSWMSI model is applicable to the MSWM industry? Comments/Suggestions:

Does the model help decision-makers helps identifying the key parameters required to meet all the MSWM sustainability requirements? Comments/Suggestions: