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Reverse logistics
Reverse logistics strategies strategies
for end-of-life products
Jessica Hanafi, Sami Kara and Hartmut Kaebernick
Life Cycle Engineering and Management Research Group, 367
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Abstract
Purpose – End-of-life (EOL) products have become a major environmental issue among countries
and manufacturers. This is due to the growing number of EOL products and their hazardous contents.
Many collection strategies and pilot projects have been conducted to manage EOL products, especially
Waste Electrical and Electronics equipments (WEEEs). However, as characteristics of a population are
different to one another, a customized collection strategy is required. The purpose of this paper is to
find an effective collection strategy which considers cost and environmental impact simultaneously.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents an integrated collection strategy which
combines a Fuzzy Colored Petri Net forecasting method and collection network model to collect EOL
products. Colored Petri Net is used in modeling the integrated collection strategy. To test the collection
strategy, a case study on mobile phone collection in Australia is presented.
Findings – The integrated collection strategy developed in this paper finds that by providing
demographic data and historical sales of a relevant product in a certain location, the best strategy to
collect EOL products in that location can be determined. This paper finds that the best strategy that
suits one location might be different to other locations.
Originality/value – This paper presents a model which provides a customized collection strategy
that follows the characteristics of a population. This strategy allows government organizations or
manufacturers to simulate the strategies to collect EOL products in different locations.
Keywords Obsolescence, Waste management, Waste handling, Waste collection
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
End-of-life (EOL) products, especially Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipments
(WEEEs), contain pollutants which are toxic and hazardous to human health. Improper
handling of these e-wastes may trigger damage to human health from respiratory
problems to cancer. When discarded into the landfill, these hazardous contents are also
damaging to the ecosystem. This issue has raised awareness in the society about the
environment. This awareness became vivid by the enactment of various environmental
laws around the world, such as the WEEE Directive by the European Union (2003), the
Household Appliances Recycling Law by the Japanese Ministry of Environment (2000)
and Extended Producer’s Responsibility Act by New South Wales government in
Australia (2001).
These facts triggered the existence of reverse logistics. Reverse Logistics is defined The International Journal of Logistics
as (Roger and Tibben-Lembke, 1998): Management
Vol. 19 No. 3, 2008
pp. 367-388
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
The authors thank Mobile Muster and the Australian Mobile Telecommunication Association for 0957-4093
providing the data for the case study. DOI 10.1108/09574090810919206
IJLM The process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of
raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of
19,3 consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal.
Reverse logistics consists of five main activities: collection, testing or inspection,
separation, reprocessing and redistribution. Figure 1 summarises the activities in
forward and reverse logistics.
368 Previous studies related to reverse logistics have been reported on inspection (Kara
et al., 2004; Rose et al., 1998; Shrivastava et al., 2005), separation and (Addouche et al.,
2003; Duta et al., 2003; Gao et al., 2003; Martinez et al., 1997; Moore et al., 1998; Park
et al., 2003; Srinivasan and Gadh, 1998; Zhang and Kuo, 1996; Zussman and Zhou,
1999; Zussman et al., 1998), and redistribution (Hansen, 2000). Some studies were
conducted on the reverse logistics network to collect EOL products (Baumgarten et al.,
2003; Krikke, 1999; Krikke et al., 2001; Louwers et al., 1999). However, most of these
studies were concentrated on the facility location allocation model, collection routes
and transportation modes.
Many problems regarding the collection of EOL products lie within its operational
aspect. People are often unaware of how to discard products properly. Therefore, many
collection strategies were tested in pilot projects to efficiently and effectively collect
EOL products.
Furthermore, one of the main characteristics of reverse logistics is its uncertainties
in many aspects. These uncertainties appear throughout every activity in the reverse
supply chain. For instance, the collection of returned products requires information on
the quantity and timing of returned products.
The study presented in this paper emphasizes the development of a collection
strategy based on the location. Every city or country has its own profile. The profile
can be defined by its demographics, financial growth, development of the location, and
many others. Since every location is unique and has its own characteristics, a collection
strategy should be designed to mimic the characteristics of the locations.
An effective collection strategy can be designed if the information on the rate of
returned products for a period of time in a certain location is available. There are
various forecasting method reported in the past (Kelle and Silver, 1989; Marx-Gomez
et al., 2000, 2002; Toktay et al., 2003; Stuart et al., 1998). However, those studies were
only based on time series and did not consider the characteristics of the locations. Our
model captures both time-and location-based forecasting.

forward logistics

RAW PART MODULES PARTS

DISTRIBUTION USER
MATERIAL FABRICATION SUBASSEMBLY ASSEMBLY

REMANUFACTURE REPAIR REUSE

Figure 1.
RECYCLE
Closed loop supply chain:
forward and reverse
logistics reverse logistics
The strategy presented in this paper integrates forecasting model and product Reverse logistics
collection strategy to provide a solution to EOL product management at different strategies
locations. The demographics of each location influences the recycling behavior of the
residents, and consequently, the amount of returned products. Therefore, any EOL
product management scheme should take the demographics of each location into
account. The strategy developed in this paper utilizes demographics, historical
product, and technological data to design an optimum collection strategy for a certain 369
product in a specified location. The optimum product collection network is achieved by
meeting the objective function, which is to find the strategy with minimum cost and
environmental impacts.
The paper is structured as followed: First, Coloured Petri Net (CPN) as the tool in
modeling the collection strategy is presented. Then, the collection strategy
methodology is explained, continued with the problem in collecting mobile phone
wastes. The collection strategy methodology is applied to solve the mobile phone waste
issue. The results of the simulation are discussed in Section 5. Finally, Section 6
summarized all the findings and concludes the study.

2. Coloured Petri Net

CPN is a bipartite graph which serves as a graphical and mathematical tool. As a
graphical tool, Petri net depicts the information and goods flow similar to flow
diagrams, flow and networks graphically. Thus, it provides visual communication aid.
As a mathematical tool, equations such as state equations, algebraic equations and
other mathematical models can be used to control the behavior of the system (Murata,
1989).
CPN provides visual communication aid through places, transition, arcs, and
tokens. Places, shown as circles or ovals, represent the availability of resources,
operations or conditions. Transitions, depicted by bars or rectangles, represent events
happening, transformed or terminated. Arcs show the relationship between places and
transitions. Each place may contain a dynamically varying number of small black dots,
which are called tokens. An arbitrary distribution of tokens on the places is called a
marking. Tokens in places are controlled by the firing of transitions. Tokens illustrate
the ability of modeling system dynamics in Petri Nets (Jensen, 1997; Murata, 1989).
The semantics of a Petri Net can be considered to be a game board where the tokens
are markers (which are only allowed to be positioned on the places). Each transition
represents a potential move in the “Petri Net game”. A move is possible iff (if and only
if) each input place of the transition contains at least the number of tokens prescribed
by the arc expression of the corresponding input arc. Therefore, the transition is
enabled. Figure 2 shows a Petri Net with its semantics. In Figure 2a, there are three
tokens inside a place, which enabled the transition. The transition is fired in Figure 2b

1 1 1 1

Figure 2.
Semantics of Petri Net
(a) Enabled (b) Fired
IJLM and one token, as inscripted in the arc inscription, is removed from the input place and
19,3 one token is added to the output place.
Petri Net can be used to describe and study concurrent, asynchronous, distributed,
parallel, nondeterministic and/or stochastic information processing systems. It is also
used as a generic modeling tool in work flow management (van der Aalst and van Hee,
1996). Since reverse logistics can be seen as a workflow with a discrete event system,
370 Petri net can also be applied. Moreover, as an effective tool for modeling dynamical and
stochastic behavior of continuos-discrete concurrent process, Petri net can be used to
model reverse logistics network. Furthermore, although a discrete event dynamic
system can be modeled by several techniques such as Markov processes, queuing
networks, automata, min-max algebraic models and finite state machines (Hatono et al.,
1989), Petri net is the only technique which is designed specifically to model systems
with interacting concurrent components (Srinivasa Raghavan and Viswanadham,
1999; Lin and Wang, 1995). Reverse logistics contains various activities which occur
concurrently, as a consequence, Petri net is a useful tool to model this environment.
Hierarchical Coloured Petri Net distributes the net into multiple modules,
called submodel. The submodels and the main model are interconnected through a
substitution transition. The model can be developed bottom-up or top-down. The
substitution transitions enable modeling with multiple layers and show a top-level net
with more detailed pages. The top level page is called Superpage while the detailed
pages are the Subpage. The places in the Superpage are connected with the places in
the subpage with the port and socket assignment. The sockets are placed in the
Superpage while the ports are in the Subpage. There are three types of ports available,
i.e. Input port (In), Output port (Out), and Input/Output port (I/O).
The hierarchical structure of Petri net is suitable for modeling complex system since
it can model hierarchical structure with its hierarchical transition. The application of
Petri Net in modeling hierarchical structure and deal with uncertainties is shown in the
work by Sawhney (1997) and Hatono et al. (Hatono et al., 1989). Sawhney estimated the
uncertainties using statistical distribution and probabilistic arcs while Hatono et al.
modeled flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) using continuous-time and
discrete-time stochastic Petri net.
Furthermore, Petri net has also been used in conjunction with reasoning methods
such as fuzzy system (Cardoso et al., 1996; Fengler et al., 1996; Gao and Zhou, 2001; Lee
and Seong, 2004; Lin, 1997; Lin and Hwang, 1996; Looney, 1988; Ouchi and Tazaki,
1997; Shiu et al., 1998; Son and Seong, 1999; Tuma, 2002; Veung et al., 1996; Yeung et al.,
1999; Vujosevic et al., 2004). Fuzzy Petri Net (FPN) has been used for systems that
involve approximate reasoning and uncertainty knowledge inference (Cardoso et al.,
1996). Fuzzy Coloured Petri Net (FCPN) integrates the concept of CPN and FPN. Some
of the application in the integrated concept are in the modeling of FMS (Yeung et al.,
1996; Yeung et al., 1999) and printed circuit board (PCB) assembly manufacturing
system (Shiu et al., 1998). However, this concept has never been applied in forecasting,
which is developed and discussed in this paper.

3. Methodology of developing collection strategies

An Integrated Product Collection Strategy is developed to provide an end-to-end
solution to EOL product management at different locations. The demographic of each
location influences the recycling behavior of the residents, consequently, the amount
of returned products. Therefore, an EOL product management should take the Reverse logistics
demographic of each location into account. The strategy utilizes demographic, product strategies
historical and technological data to design an optimum collection strategy for a certain
product in a specified location. The optimum product collection network is achieved by
meeting the objective function, which is to find the strategy with minimum cost and
environmental impact.
The Integrated Product Collection Strategy consists of two phases. The first phase 371
of the strategy focuses on forecasting the amount of returned products. The forecast is
conducted by using Fuzzy Coloured Petri Net (FCPN) Forecasting model (Hanafi et al.,
2007). The FCPN forecast provides a prediction of the amount of returned products
based on the demographics of the location. This information is then used in the second
phase of the strategy, which is the product collection network. The product collection
network model concurrently simulates various collection network configurations to
find the optimum collection strategy (Hanafi, 2008). The methodology of the integrated
product collection strategy is shown in Figure 3.
The Integrated Product Collection Network Strategy is modeled hierarchically with
Coloured Petri Net (Jensen, 1997) by using Coloured Petri Net Tools (CPN Group, 2006).
Figure 4 shows the Coloured Petri Net of the top layer of the integrated product
collection strategy. The Figure has two substitution transitions: Fuzzy Coloured Petri
Net Forecasting and Collection Network Strategy. Fuzzy Coloured Petri Net
Forecasting transition is linked to submodel Forecast (Figure 5), which model the
forecast in more detail. Meanwhile, substitution transition Collection Network Strategy
is linked to submodel Strategy (Figure 6).
The top layer of the integrated product collection strategy shows that by providing
information on the household income level, population density of a location, median
age of the population and historical sales of the product, the amount EOL product
returns can be predicted by using FCPN forecasting model.

Product Return Forecast

Return Rate

Product Collection Network

Figure 3.
Optimum collection program Integrated collection
strategy methodology
IJLM 1 `e
19,3 START
E
e

Define Input Variables

372
[!income] [!pop] [!age] [!sales]

Income Population Age Sales

INTLIST INTLIST INTLIST INTLIST

FUZZY COLOURED PETRI NET FORECAST

Notes:
Forecast
[] transition

RETURN RATES place

INTLIST
arc
Figure 4.
Integrated collection COLLECTION NETWORK STRATEGY substitution transition
network strategy
Strategies

FCPN forecasting model is a novel forecasting technique which incorporates fuzzy

system to the forecasting system. It utilized demographic information, information on
product life and product historical sales data to predict the amount of returned
products in a certain location. Categorized as one of the causal forecasting techniques,
Fuzzy Coloured Petri Net forecasting consists of two steps. Firstly, the fuzzy rules are
generated by using the Wang and Mendel algorithm (Wang and Mendel, 1992). These
rules are mapped into FCPN in the second step of the forecast model. The model
consisted of three major components, namely fuzzification, rule evaluation and
defuzzification. The result of the model is the amount of returned products in that
location. Figure 5 shows a simplified version of Fuzzy Coloured Petri Net Forecast
model.
Figure 5 shows that the input variables were turned into fuzzy value in the
Fuzzification step. X is the variables for income, Y is for population density, U
represents age and W represents historical sales of the product. Following the rules
generated in the first step of the forecast model, the output is inferred and defuzzified.
Three rules are presented in this simplified version, namely Rule 13 (transition R13),
Rule 19 (transition R19) and Rule 48 (transition R48).
The information on the amount of returned products is then used in the collection
network model to find the best strategy to manage these EOL products by considering
the cost and environmental impact of the activities. Additional information on the
country’s income distribution and area of the location are also important as
background information for the model.
 Population Age
Income Density Sales ()
I/O I/O I/O
INTLIST INTLIST I/O INTLIST Ready
Fuzzification INTLIST
Ready UNIT
x: :xlist xlist y: :ylist ylist u: :ulist ulist w: :wlist wlist
if x>=x3 andalso x<x5
then 1’ (High,x) () if w>=w3 andalso w<w5
else 1’ (High,0) the 1’ (High,w) else 1’ (High,0)
measure
if x>=x4 then if w>=w2 andalso
1’ (VeryHigh,x) if w>=w1 andalso w<w4 then
else 1’ (VeryHigh,0) if y>=y1 andalso y<y2 if y>=y2 andalso y<y4 if u>=u3 then
then 1’ (VeryLow,y) if u>=u2 andalso u<u4 1’ (Old,u) w<w3 then 1’ (Low,w) 1’ (Medium,w)
then 1’ (Medium,y) then 1’ (UpperMid,u)
else 1’ (VeryLow,0) else 1’ (Medium,0) else 1’ (Old,0) else 1’ (Low,0) else 1’ (Medium,0)
else 1’ (UpperMid,0)
XHRead XVHRead YVLRead YMRead UUMRead UORead WLRead WMRead WHRead
FUZZIn
FUZZIn FUZZIn FUZZIn FUZZIn FUZZIn FUZZIn FUZZIn
input(fin);
output(mx); (fx,fin) (fx,fin) (fy,fin) (fy,fin) (fu,fin) (fu,fin) (fw,fin) (fw,fin) (fw,fin)
action input(fin); input(fin);
case fin of input(fin); input(fin); input(fin);
input(fin); output(mx); input(fin); input(fin); output(mu); output(mw); output(mw); output(mw);
0=>0 action
| _= > triangle DegXH DegXVH output(mx); DegYVL action DegYM output(my); DegUUM output(mu); DegUO DegWL action DegWM action DegWH action
action case fin of action action case fin of case fin of case fin of case fin of
(fin,x3,x4,x5); case fin of 0=>0 case fin of case fin of 0=>0 0=>0 0=>0 0=>0
0=>0 | _= > BegTriangle 0=>0 0=>0 | _= > EndTriangle | _= > triangle | _= > triangle | _= > triangle
| _= > EndTriangle (fin,y1,y2); | _= > triangle | _= > triangle (fin,u3,u4); (fin,w1,w2,w3); (fin,w2,w3,w4); (fin,w3,w4,w5);
(fx,mx) (fx,mx) (fin,x4,x5); (fin,y2,y3,y4); (fin,u2,u3,u4); (fu,mu) (fu,mu)
(fy,my) (fy,my) (fw,mw) (fw,mw)
(fx,mx) (fy,my) (fu,mu) (fw,mw)
XH2 XH8 XVH5 YVL5 YM4 YM9 UUM24 UO13 UO19 WL4 WM20 WH3
FZSet FZSet FZSet
FZSet FZSet FZSet FZSet (fu,mu) FZSet FZSet FZSet FZSet FZSet
(fx,mx) (fy,my) (fu,mu)
(fy,my) (fu,mu) (fw,mw) (fw,mw)
(fx,mx)
(fx,mx)
(fx,mx) (fw,mw)

Rule Production R13 R19 input (mx,my); R48 input (mx,my);

input (mx,my); output (mz); output (mz);
output (mz); action action
action Int.min(mx,my); Int.min(mx,my);
Int.min(mx,my);
(VeryLow,mz) (VeryHigh, mz)
(VeryHigh, mz) ()
T13 T19 T48 Ready1
FZSet FZSet FZSet
Ready
UNIT
(VeryLow, mzvl1) (VeryHigh, mzvh2) ()
(VeryHigh, mzvh1)
input (mzvl1,mzvh1,mzvh2); []
output (def); def def: :zlist
action Defuzzification defuzzification fin Defuzz Return
Defuzzification let val def=round(real(sumG [z1,mzvl1), def rates
INT zlist
(z5,mzvh1),(z5,mzvh2)])/ I/O INTLIST
real(sum[mzv1l,mzvh1,mzvh2]))
in def end;

Notes: X, Household income;VL, Very Low;Y, Population density; L, Low;U, Median age; M, Medium W, Sales; H, High;VH, Very High
Reverse logistics

forecast model
strategies

Fuzzy Coloured Petri Net

Figure 5.
373
 19,3

374
IJLM

strategies
Figure 6.
Coloured Petri Net
of collection network
return def: :zlist action 1`e
rates Init_file loadfile ("Input", (!Area), (!distr)) e action
In INTLIST init Init_file loadfile ("Input", (!Area), (!distr))
getPlocs() def` e e E round(!ret)`e
getPlocs() e
P
Returns counter Determine the annual Returns counter Determine the annual P
number of returns L 1`e number of returns
PRODUCTs E ((w,v),br, PRODUCTs E E
((wt,v),br,pt, e e@+1 e
lpl e@+1 pt,(x,y))::lpl lpl
(xp,yp))::lpl 1` e possDelay 0
0 n-1 possDelay(!ret/m)
n-1 (!ret/m) Day
[n>0] Generate Day Generate Update
Update n count
Count n n
n [n >0] INT
INT ((w,v),br,
((wt,vol),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0) (0,0,0,0,0,0)
pt,(xp,yp)) pt,(x,y))
D1 T1 E1 D4 T4 E4

PRODUCT C1 SUMDATA PRODUCT C4 SUMDATA

((wt,vol),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0) ((w,v),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0)
pt,(xp,yp)) pt,(x,y))
D2 T2 E2 D14 T14 E14

PRODUCT C2 SUMDATA PRODUCT C14 SUMDATA

((wt,vol),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0) ((w,v),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0)
pt,(xp,yp)) pt,(x,y))
D12 T12 E12 D24 T24 E24
PRODUCT C12 SUMDATA PRODUCT C24 SUMDATA
((wt,vol),br, ((w,v),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0)
(0,0,0,0,0,0) pt,(x,y))
pt,(xp,yp)) D124 T124 E124
D15 T15 E15
PRODUCT C124 SUMDATA
PRODUCT C15 SUMDATA ((w,v),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0)
((wt,vol),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0) pt,(x,y))
D145 T145 E145
pt,(xp,yp))
D25 T25 E25 PRODUCT C145 SUMDATA
((w,v),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0)
PRODUCT C25 SUMDATA pt,(x,y))
((wt,vol),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0) D245 T245 E245
pt,(xp,yp))
D5 T5 E5 PRODUCT C245 SUMDATA
((w,v),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0)
PRODUCT C5 SUMDATA pt,(x,y))
((wt,vol),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0) D45 T45 E45
pt,(xp,yp)) SUMDATA
D125 T125 E125 PRODUCT C45
((w,v),br, (0,0,0,0,0,0)
PRODUCT C125 SUMDATA pt,(x,y))
D1245 T1245 E1245
PRODUCT C1245 SUMDATA
Notes: 1, Drop Off Collection Method; 2, Periodic Kerbside Collection Method;4, On-Call Kerbside Collection Method;5, Mail-In Collection Method;Example: T1245 , Combination
of Drop-Off, Periodic Kerbside, On-Call Kerbside and Mail-In Collection methods
The network model consists of various configurations of collection methods which are Reverse logistics
concurrently simulated as shown in Figure 6 (Hanafi, 2008). Each of the configurations strategies
consists of one or more collection methods. There are five collection methods employed
in the network model, namely Drop-Off Collection, Periodic Kerbside Collection, Point
of Sale Collection, On-Call Kerbside Collection and Mail-In Collection (Figure 7). The
application of this collection strategy will be explained in more detail in the next
section. 375
4. The case study
The integrated product collection strategy was implemented to the mobile phone waste
collection in Australia. Mobile phone industry is one of the fastest growing industries
in the world. Over eight million handsets were sold annually in Australia since 2004
(AMTA, 2005). With a population of 21 million people (Australian Bureau of Statistics,
2001), this implied that most Australians possess ownership to one or more mobile
phones. Hence, there is an increasing amount of mobile phones discarded or left in a
drawer everyday.
The Australian Mobile Telecommunication Association (AMTA) conducts a
program to recycle mobile phone wastes (MobileMuster, 2006). The program aims to
prevent these mobile phones going to the landfills. Therefore, a strategy is essential to
effectively collect them. The integrated collection network strategy is applied to this
case study to find the best strategy to collect mobile phones. Required information for
the integrated collection strategy were gathered from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005; Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001;
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006) and from the AMTA.
Eight locations were randomly selected from the case study to test the integrated
product collection strategy model. The demographics of the locations and other
supporting data were collected and the first phase of the strategy was implemented.
Table I shows the summary information of the location profiles used in the case study.
Based on FCPN forecast method, fuzzy rules were generated for the case study.
Some of these rules are presented in Table II. These rules are mapped in FCPN forecast
model as shown in simplified version in Figure 5. Since the case study is only for
mobile phones, it is assume that these phones have similar product technological life.
Consequently, the product technological life is not presented here in the model. The
result of the forecast, as shown in Figure 8, were compared to the actual data and more
than 96 per cent accuracy was achieved (Hanafi et al., 2007).
The forecast result is then fed to the second phase of the strategy, which is the
product collection network (Figure 6). This result is linked to the product collection
network by place Return Rates. The place Return Rate triggers the number of products
which will be discarded by household residents. Meanwhile, transition Init File loads a
file which contains a number of discarded products. In this case study, the products
were a range of mobile phones with varied specifications. The products were specified
based on their weight (wt), volume (vol), brand (br), type of products (pt), and their
locations in Cartesian Coordinate (x, y). The products in this case study were mobile
phones, with weight ranging from 100 grams to 1.5 kg and volume from as small as
100 to 1500 cm3 (Wikipedia, 2007). Only one brand was used in this case study and one
type of product, which is mobile phone. The location was adjusted to the model area of
the study.
IJLM
19,3

376
Disposal PRODUCT
In
[pt< >L] ((w,v),br,pt,(x,y))
if lpl= =[] then
(id,TimeToInt()) else (id,t) (dp(1), dist(xpA1,ypA1, x,y))
Pile
(id,t)
(id,lpl,Sw,Sv) (dp(1),((w,v),br,pt,(x,y))::lpl,
Sw+w,Sv+v)
1` (dp(1),0)
(dp(1),[],0,0)
Hold Depot
IDxINT (id,lpl,Sw,Sv) IDDepot
(id,t) [Sw> =8*weightI Distance
chooseTruck(jsmall,ksmall)) (id,[],0,0)
div 10 orelse IDxINT
Sv> = 8*volume(
chooseTruck(jsmall,ksmall)) (id,Sd)
div 10 orelse
(TimeToInt()-t) > 10]
Collection
(id,TimeToInt()) Input *id,lpl,Sw,Sv);
(lpl,Sw,Sd1,Sv,tr) output (Sd1, tr);
1` e action
Init (dist(xpA1,ypA1,xt,yt),
Truck chooseTruck(jsmall,ksmall));
E
e (lpl,Sw,Sd,Sv,tr) PRODTRUCK

c1 (lpl,Sw,Sd,Sv,ei,c,tr)
Setup Setup 0 Tx INTWS
Cost Cost Out
COST DATA
round(real(Cdepot)/ input (Sw,Sd, tr,c1);
(!AxisUnit)) output(ei,c);
action
let
val ei=(Sw*Sd*truckEmission(tr));
val c=round(real(Sd*transcost(tr))/(!AxisUnit))+cl*1;
in (ei,c)
end;

(a) (continued)
Figure 7.
Collection methods:
(a) drop-off collection;
(b) periodic Kerbside
collection; (c) point-of-sale
collection; (d) on-call
collection and (e) mail-in
collection
 Reverse logistics
strategies
item disposed Calculate the distance from
In last collection point to transfer
PRODUCT station, the cost and emission
(sp,br,pt,(x,y)) input (lpl,Sw,Sd,tr);
output(Sd1,ei,c); 377
action
let
val xf= first (loc(List.last(lpl)));
pile at kerbside val yf= Snd (loc(List.last(lpl)));
val Sd1= Sd+ dist(xf,yf,xt,yt);
lpl^^[(sp,br,pt,(x,y))] val ei=(Sw*Sd1*truckEmission(tr));
lpl val c=round(real(Ckerb)/(!AxisUnit))+
[] round(real(Sd1*Sw*transcost(tr))/(!AxisUnit)) div 100;
in (Sd1,ei,c)
Kerbside end;
PRODUCTs cost is divided by 100 as weigth converter

e (lpl,Sw, [lpl< >[]] (lpl,Sw,Sd1,

Sd,Sv,tr) To Council Sv,ei,c,tr)
Collection time Collect Truck IntWS
Station
Out DATA
E Kerbside Collect PRODTRUCK

[]
Kerbside
I/O PRODUCTs
lpl
[]
1` e [lpl<> []] []
e []
Collection time Collect Collected
Products input (v,w,x,y,Sw,Sd,Sv,lpl2);
I/O E e@+14 lpl PRODUCTs output (Sw1,Sd1,Sv1);
((w,v),br,pt, action
Collection conducted fortnightly lpl1
(x,y))::lpl1 let
val Sv1 = Sv+v;
n+ size lpl n val xf= if lpl2 <> [] then
LoadTruck first (loc(List.last(lpl2))) else xt;
val yf= if lpl2<> [] then
(lpl2^^ Snd (loc(List.last(lpl2))) else yt;
[((w,v),br,pt,(x,y))], (lpl2Sw,Sd,Sv,tr) val Sd1 = Sd+dist(x,y,xf,yf);
0 Sw1,Sd1,Sv1,tr ([],0,0,0,chooseTruck in (Sw1,Sd1,Sv1)
(jmed,kmed) end;
Packets
INT TruckLoad
PRODTRUCK lpl2
([],0,0,0,chooseTruck
(lpl1,Sw,Sd,Sv,tr) Collection per 1m3 by councils per household
(jmed,kmed))
and average 40 households per collection
n [Sv> = 200 andalso Sv<=4,000
dispatch Truck
n- (size lpl1) orelse (size lpl1>1 andalso lpl2=[])]
(lpl1,Sw,Sd,Sv,tr)
Trucks
PRODTRUCK
0 [n=0] (lpl1,Sw,Sd,Sv,tr)
n
Products Truck
Loaded (lpl1,Sw, Out
Sd,Sv,tr) PRODTRUCK

(b) (continued)

Figure 7.
IJLM
19,3

378

action
LoadSales ("Sales", (!Area))
1` e
round(!ret)` e
item Init_sales init
e
disposed
In getPlocs() E e
PRODUCT Counter
P
((w,v),br,pt,(x,y)) E Sales E
[pt=pt1 PRODUCTs e
andalso ((w1,v1),br1, ((w1,v1)br1,
e pt1,(x1,y1)) lpl e@+1
pt=L] pt1,(x1,y1))::lpl
dist(x,y, ((w1,v1),br1, o n
x1,y1) pt1,(x1,y1)) n-1 Day
Distance Exchange to be Sale Update
exchanged Count
INT PRODUCT n INT
[n>0] possDelay
(((w,v),br,pt,(x,y)),
Sw,Sd1,Sv) input (w,v,x,y,x1,y1); (!ret/(4.0*m))
output (Sw,Sd,Sd1,Sv);
action Determine the annual number of sale
BIG
let
PDV val Sw=w;
(((w,v),br,pt, val Sd=0;
(x,y)),Sw,Sd1,Sv) val Sv=v;
val Sd1= dist(x,y,x1,y1);
Collection in (Sw,Sd,Sd1,Sv)
end;
input (w,v,br,pt,x,y,Sw,Sv,Sd1);
(lpl,Sw,Sd2, output (lpl,Sd2, tr,ei,c);
Sv,ei,c,tr) action
let
val lpl= ((w,v),br,pt,(x,y))::[];
Truck val Sd2 =(Sd1+dist(xt,yt,x,y));
val tr = chooseTruck(j,k);
DATA val ei=(Sw*Sd2*truckEmission(tr));
val c=(round(real(Csale)/(!AxisUnit))+
(lpl,Sw,Sd,
Sv,ei,c,tr) round(real(Sd2*weight(tr)*transcost(tr))/(!AxisUnit)) div 100;
in (lpl,Sd2,tr,ei,c) end;
To Transfer (lpl,Sw,Sd,Sv,ei,c,tr)
INTWS
Station
Out DATA
(c) (continued)

Figure 7.
 Reverse logistics
strategies

item

In
disposed PRODUCT 379
(sp,br,pt,(x,y)) [Sv>=200 andalso
([],0,0,0) Sv<=4,000
(lpl,Sw,Sd,Sv) (lpl,Sw,Sd,Sv)
call council Order S2
([],0,0,0)
((sp,br,pt,(x,y))::lpl,
input (w,v,Sw,Sv,Sd); Sw1,Sd1,Sv1) PRODSUM
output (Sw1,Sv1,Sd1);
action lpl
(Sw+w, Sv+v,Sd);
((sp,br,pt,(x,y)),TimeToInt())

wait scheduled
PD PRODUCTs
((sp1,br1,pt1,(x2,y2)),t) (sp,br,pt,(x,y))::lpl lpl
input (w,v,br,pt,x,y,t,lpl1,lpl,Sw,Sd,Sv);
output(Sw1,Sd1,t1,Sv1); input (sp,br,pt,x,y);
action output (pl,d);
Sort Coll action
let
val xf= if lpl1 <>[] then let
first (loc(List.last(lpl1))) else xt; val pl=(sp,br,pt,(x,y));
val yf= if lpl1 <> [] then lpd val d=dist(x,y,xt,yt);
Snd (loc(List.last(lpl1))) else yt; sort (pl,d) lpd in (pl,d)
val Sd1 = Sd+ (if size(lpl)=0 then []end;
(dist(x,y,xt,yt)+dist(x,y,xf,yf))
else dist(x,y,xf,yf)); Sort
[sp=sp1 val Sw1 = Sw+w; LPD
andalso br=br1 val Sv1 = Sv+v;
andalso pt=pt1 val t0=TimeToInt()-t; []
andalso x=x2 in (Sw1,Sd1,t0,Sv1) lpd
andalso y=y2] end; [length lpd>=5]
(sp,br,pt,(x,y))::lpl [] []
StartColl CollList ToList
map first lpd
lpl
PRODUCTs
(lpl^^[(sp,br,pt,(x,y))], Sw1,Sd1,Sv1)
(lpl1,Sw,
Sd,Sv)
[Sv> = 200 andalso Sv< = 4,000]
(lpl,Sw,Sd,Sv) (lpl,Sw, (lpl,Sw,Sd,
([],0,0,0) (Sd,Sv,tr) Sd,Sv,tr) Sv,ei,c,tr)
Truck t2 IntWS1 Tx INTWS
([],0,0,0) Out
PRODSUM input (Sw,Sd,tr); DATA
input (lpl,Sw,Sd); PRODTRUCK
output (tr); output(ei,c);
action action
let let
val tr=chooseTruck val ei=(Sw*Sd*truckEmission(tr));
(jmed,kmed); val c=round(real(Ccall)/(!AxisUnit))+
in tr round(real(Sd*Sw*transcost(tr))/
end; (!AxisUnit)) div 100;
in (ei,c)
end;
cost is divided by 100 as weight converter

(d) (continued)

Figure 7.
IJLM Disposal PRODUCT
19,3 In
pl
[pt< >L] @+1

contact OEM Takes 1 day each to get a respond from OEM

and to reveice the packet
pl
380 pl
@+1
pl packet
Respons mail packet received input (w,v,br, pt, x, y);
PRODUCT PRODUCT output(lpl, Sw, Sd, ei, c, tr, Sv);
((w,v),br,pt,(x,y)) action
let
val tr=Ute;
mail item val Sd= dist(x,y,xt,yt);
val Sw=w;
val Sv=v;
(lpl,Sw,Sd,Sv,ei,c,tr) val lpl=((w,v),br,pt,(x,y)): :[];
val ei=(w*Sd*truckEmission(tr));
OEM val c=round(real(MailCostAppl(w))/(!AxisUnit));
facility in (lpl, Sw, Sd, ei, c,tr,Sv)
Out DATA end;
Figure 7.
(e)

Location Income ($) Population density (person/km2) Area (km2) Median age Sales

Warringah 49,919 931 150 41 7,083

Marion 36,842 1,458 55.5 39 4,104
North Sydney 65,867 5,540 11 37 3,092
Maribyrnong 41,666 1,987 31.2 36 3,144
Toowoomba 35,802 823 116.6 34 4,868
Table I. Canning 38,832 1,234 64.8 36 4,055
Input data for collection Penrith 40,843 439 405 40 9,027
network strategy model Baulkham Hills 49,677 402 401 36 8,171

Population Sales
Income density Age Vlow Low Med High Vhigh

Med Med Upper mid L M

Med Med Old M L
Med High Mid M
Med High Upper mid H M L
Med High Old VL H
High Vlow Upper mid L VL VL M L
High Vlow Old M VL VL M
High Low Mid H
High Low Upper mid M M M
High Low Old M M L
High Med Mid H
High Med Upper mid M
High Med Old VH
High High Mid L VH
High High Upper mid L M M
High High Old M VL
Table II.
Fuzzy rules Notes: VL, very low; H, high; L, low; VH, very high; and M, medium
 400 Reverse logistics
350 strategies
Accuracy = 96.65 %
300
Units of product

250

200
381
150

100

50

0
Warringah Marion North Manbymong Toowoomba Canning Penrith Baulkham
Sydney Hills
Actual Coll 157 83 44 97 174 75 134 339 Figure 8.
Proj'd Collection 157 85 43 91 175 59 126 336 Fuzzy Coloured Petri Net
forecast result
Location

Some of the input data used in the first phase of the strategy, such as location area and
population distribution, were transformed to fit the collection network model. The
location is modeled in grids using the Cartesian Coordinates. The information on
location area and population distribution were transformed into model unit according
to equations 1 and 2, respectively. The model area unit (MAU) is the size of the map
represented by the model. A location may occupy model area 10 £ 10, 20 £ 20,
60 £ 60, etc. in the model. The axis unit (equation 3) represents the scale between the
real location area and model area unit:
8 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
< Area £ 10:0; if Area , 100:0
Model Area Unit ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð1Þ
: 10:0Area
£ 10; otherwise

Model Area Unit

Population Distribution ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ; ð2Þ
Population Density £ Area
1000

Area
Axis Unit ¼ ; ð3Þ
Model Area Unit
Four collection methods were utilized in this case study, which are:
(1) Drop-Off Collection method (Collection 1).
(2) Periodic Kerbside Collection (Collection 2).
(3) On-Call Kerbside Collection (Collection 3).
(4) Mail-In Collection method (Collection 4).

Drop-Off Collection method utilizes collection sites where people can drop-off their
EOL products. Periodic and On-Call Kerbside Collection methods are usually run by
IJLM local government organization to collect household waste. They can also be used to
19,3 collect EOL products. Both are similarly operated, however, On-Call Kerbside
Collection is conducted by appointment basis between local government and
household residents. On the other hand, Mail-In Collection method requires
participation from household residents to send their old products by mail directly to
OEMs reprocessing centers.
382 15 sets of strategies were configured by combining four collection methods, shown
in Figure 6. For example, substitution transition T12 is linked to subpage C12 where
the network is configured by two collection methods, i.e. Drop-Off and Periodic
Kerbside Collection method. Each of these strategies was linked to more detailed pages.
At the bottom of the hierarchy lie the four collection methods.

5. Result and discussion

The relationship between each location and its product return rates are defined by the
rules generated in Fuzzy Coloured Petri Net Forecasting model. The forecasting of
returned products involved multiple variables. Therefore, the relationship between
certain demographic properties and product return rates is indistinct. Figure 8 shows
the FCPN forecast result for the locations in the case study. The accuracy of the
forecast was 96.65 percent.
The product collection network strategy was simulated based on the amount of returned
products forecast. The performance of each network configuration was monitored by using
the monitoring functions in CPN Tools. The cost, environmental impact, and collection yield
of each network configuration were compared and the strategy which has the least amount
of environmental impact and cost is chosen. However, the strategy which has the least
environmental impact is not always the one which has the least cost. Figure 9 compares the
collection cost per item by various collection strategies for a location in the case study. It
shows that Collection Strategy 1, which employed Drop-Off Collection method, has the least
amount of cost. To the contrary, Figure 10 shows that Collection Strategy 5, which
employed Mail-In Collection method, has the least amount of environmental impact.
Drop-Off Collection method provides collection sites where consumer may drop off
and discard their EOL products. Since mobile phones are relatively small, they do not
require large and/or specially designed collection sites. The collection site may take a
form of a small bin or tube and can be placed in retail outlets or office buildings.
Therefore, the cost of setting up a collection site is relatively inexpensive. On the other
hand, although Mail-In collection has the least environmental impact, the cost of
mailing each product to the transfer station is quite high due to its non-economic
quantity. Previous research has compared the cost per item by strategies and
environmental impact per item by strategies and shown that Collection Strategy 15,
which is configured with Drop-Off and Mail-In collection methods, is the best strategy
for that location. Similar procedure was conducted to deduce the best strategy for other
locations. Table III shows the summary of the top three strategies based on cost and
environmental impact and the best strategy which conforms to the objective function
(Figure 11).
Following Drop-Off Collection in the least cost category is the combination of
Drop-Off and Mail-In Collection. This combination integrates the benefits of economic
size quantity in Drop-Off Collection and low cost mail for small packages in Mail-In
Collection. The summary also indicates that for areas with high product return rate,
 1-2-4-5 Reverse logistics
1-2-4 strategies
2-4-5
2-4
4
1-2-5 383
Network configuration

2-5
4-5
1-2
1-4-5
1-4
5
2
1-5
1

0 5 10 15
Figure 9.
Cost per item ($) Cost per item by various
Notes: 1, Drop Off Collection; 2, Periodic Kerbside Collection; collection strategies
4, On-Call Kerbside Collection;5, Mail-In Collection

4
1-4
4-5
2-4
1-2-4
Network configuration

1-4-5
2-4-5
1-2-4-5
2
1-2
2-5
1-2-5
1
1-5
5
0 1 2 3 4 5 Figure 10.
Environmental impact per item (pt) Environmental impact per
item by various collection
Notes: 1, Drop Off Collection; 2, Periodic Kerbside Collection; strategies
4, On-Call Kerbside Collection; 5, Mail-In Collection
IJLM
Local government
19,3 area Network configuration

Cost ($)
First Second Third
Return
384 rates MinConfig Min Config Min Config
Warringah 1,208 1.3581 4.453 15 4.858 2
Marion 654 1.9281 5.02 15 6.144 5
North Sydney 331 2.8841 6.076 15 6.331 5
Maribyrnong 700 1.3581 4.45 15 6.143 5
Toowoomba 1,346 0.7061 3.806 15 4.354 2
Canning 454 1.421 4.531 15 6.231 5
Penrith 969 2.1891 5.247 15 6.023 2
Baulkham Hills 2,585 0.9381 2.816 2 3.277 12
Environmental impact(pt)
First Second Third Best strategy
Min Config Min Config Min Config
Warringah 1.41E 2 03 5 4.73E 2 03 15 8.08E 2 03 1 15
Marion 6.74E 2 04 1 7.26E 2 04 15 7.76E 2 04 5 1
North Sydney 3.75E 2 04 5 5.67E 2 04 15 7.68E 2 04 1 15
Table III. Maribyrnong 6.10E 2 04 1 6.26E 2 04 15 6.41E 2 04 5 1
Summary of top three Toowoomba 7.14E 2 04 1 9.75E 2 04 15 1.23E 2 03 5 1
strategies based on cost Canning 8.70E 2 04 5 8.73E 2 04 15 8.74E 2 04 1 15
and environmental Penrith 2.30E 2 03 5 3.96E 2 03 15 5.64E 2 03 1 15
impact Baulkham Hills 2.30E 2 03 5 4.01E 2 03 15 5.75E 2 03 1 1

1-2-4-5 4
1-2-4 1-4
2-4-5 4-5
2-4 2-4
4 1-2-4
1-2-5 1-4-5
2-5 2-4-5
4-5 1-2-4-5
1-2 2
1-4-5 1-2
1-4 2-5
5 1-2-5
2 1
1-5 1-5
1 5

14 12 810 6 4 2 0 0 1 2 3 4 5
Figure 11. Cost per item ($) Environmenttal impact per item (pt)
Best collection strategy Notes: 1, Drop Off Collection; 2, Periodic Kerbside Collection; 4, On-Call Kerbside Collection; 5, Mail-In
Collection
Periodic Kerbside Collection (Collection 2) is in the top three lists of strategies with Reverse logistics
least cost. strategies
6. Conclusion
This paper presented the development of an integrated product collection network
strategy which integrates Fuzzy Coloured Petri Net forecast model to collection network
model. The integrated strategy allows government organization or manufacturers to 385
simulate the strategies to collect EOL products in different locations. By providing
demographic data and historical sales of the relevant product in a certain location, the
best strategy to collect the data in that location can be determined.
The goal of the integrated strategy is two fold. First is to predict the amount of returned
products in specific locations. Then, to find the strategy which has minimum cost and
environmental impact by using the information on the amount of returned products.
The integrated strategy has been verified with a case study on mobile phone waste
collection. In that case study, 96.65 percent accuracy of the forecast were achieved and
the best strategy for most of the locations are Collection Strategy 1, which involved
Drop-Off Collection method, and Collection Strategy 15, which is configured with
Drop-Off and Mail-In Collection methods. The least cost of collecting products per item
ranges from 71 cents to $2.884, varied depending on the location while the least
environmental impact ranges from 0.000375 to 0.0023 points.
Although the integrated strategy was applied to waste electrical and electronics
equipment (WEEE) case study, the strategy can also be applied to other types of EOL
products in different locations. Further extension to this model is to test the strategies
to different locations and to different types of products.

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