A Stackelberg game model for construction waste transportation

The transportation of construction and demolition waste (CDW) is an essential problem in waste management. The CDW generated in large construction projects is typically transported by designated trucks. However, the disposal of scattered CDW produced by individuals or small projects is typically not planned, leading to its illegal dumping. Hong Kong aims to recycle scattered CDW by an appointment-recycling mechanism that involves a three-layered transportation network consisting of construction sites, recycling locations, and disposal facilities. In this study, we develop a two-stage Stackelberg game model to minimize the social costs of this three-layered transportation network. In the first stage, we consider the optimal decisions regarding the recycling locations, assigned trucks, and transport routes from the perspective of the government. In the second stage, the delivery routes for small projects are identified based on the government decisions. We transform the proposed model into a single-level integer program (IP) and conduct numerical experiments to demonstrate its efficiency and effectiveness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to focus on the collection of scattered CDW. Thus, our study contributes to the literature on CDW transportation. Moreover, this study helps address a practical problem, i.e., the illegal dumping of scattered CDW, which is a common concern in many cities. In particular, even small amounts of CDW must be appropriately treated because it may contain hazardous materials.