Old Dominion University
Materials Recovery Facilities in the United States Virgin Islands: A Regional Facilities Location Model Study
Abstract
dc:description.abstract<p>Continental municipalities have derived many benefits from the economies of scale associated with a regional approach to facilities location and management planning. Centralized solid waste processing facilities is an example. Island communities, however, surrounded by miles of ocean, are constrained to a fragmented approach to the facilities location solution. This research was conducted to determine if the regional paradigm suggested in the literature is applicable to a set of island communities connected by an ocean transportation infrastructure. A linear programming (LP) model, constraints and data requirements were developed and applied to a network of islands. A series of hypothetical material recovery facilities (MRF) location scenarios were studied using actual and projected data obtained for the three-island territory of the U. S. Virgin Islands. In all cases, a significant reduction in capital construction expenditures was realized. For the selected data values in the research, transportation and operating costs increased as expected, but by a surprisingly small amount. This research concludes that the regional approach to economic and environmental facilities planning for island communities is valid. Future research involving larger systems of islands and stochastic processes is suggested.</p>
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Master of Science (MS)
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Thesis
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Engineering Management & Systems Engineering
- Year dc:date.available
- 1994
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Prince, Lloyd O., Jr.
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- Derya A. Jacobs
- Billie M. Reed
- Resit Unal
Subjects
dc:subject × 7Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Repository record dc:identifier
- https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/emse_etds/147
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:digitalcommons.odu.edu:emse_etds-1148