THE CAPACITATED DISTRIBUTION AND WASTE-DISPOSAL PROBLEM

We study the problem of the simultaneous design of a distribution netw ork with plants and waste disposal units, and the coordination of prod uct flows and waste flows within this network. The objective is to min imize the sum of fixed costs for opening plants and waste disposal uni ts, and variable costs related to product and waste flows. The problem is complicated by (i) capacity constraints on plants and waste dispos al units, (ii) service requirements (i.e. production must cover total demand) and (iii) waste, arising from production, to be disposed of at waste disposal units. We discuss alternative mathematical model formu lations for the two-level distribution and waste disposal problem with capacity constraints. Lower bounding and upper bounding procedures ar e analyzed. The bounds are shown to be quite effective when embedded i n a standard branch and bound algorithm. Finally, the results of a com putational study are reported.