Presenting a new model of municipal waste management cost reduction priorities based on the Gray-TOPSIS model

The role of economic factors is significant in the municipal waste management. The presentdescriptive-applied study aimed to present a new model of municipal waste management costreduction priorities based on the Gray-TOPSIS model in Ahvaz City in 2022. Following thecollection of data on the current municipal waste management, effective criteria influencingcost reduction in municipal waste management were determined through document analysis.Expert analysis was also utilized to identify factors impacting cost reduction in municipal wastemanagement. The Gray-TOPSIS methodology was applied to prioritize solutions for cost reductionin municipal waste management. Through calculating the Kendall agreement index, 20 solutionsfor cost reduction in waste management were categorized and prioritized into educational, political,cultural, and executive groups. The findings revealed that while political measures such asapproving laws related to municipal waste management and incentive and punitive policies withspecial weightings of 0.804 and 0.799, respectively, are the most effective solutions for reducingwaste management costs, overall, educational process-related solutions with an average weightingof 0.686 have a higher priority than other processes. Government support and public educationthrough various means, especially non-governmental media and social networks, are potentialsolutions for reducing municipal waste management costs in Ahvaz City under current conditions.