A STEEP based hybrid multi-criteria decision making model for the evaluation of battery recycling plant location

Purpose - Increased demand for new batteries and strict government protocols have stressed the battery industries to collect and recycle used batteries for economic and environmental benefits. This scenario has forced the battery industries to collect used batteries and establish the formal battery recycling plant (BRP) for effective recycling. The starting of BRP includes several strategic decisions, one of the most critical decisions encountered is to find the best sustainable location for BRP. Hence, this paper aims to address the complexity of the issues faced during the BRP location selection through a hybrid framework. Design/methodology/approach - In this study, the criteria are identified under socio-cultural, technical, environmental, economic and policy and legal (STEEP) dimensions through literature review and experts' opinions. Then, the hybrid methodology integrating fuzzy decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), best worst method (BWM) and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) has been proposed to find the inter-relationship between criteria, the weights of criteria and the best alternative. Findings - The identified five main criteria and 26 sub-criteria have been analyzed through fuzzy DEMATEL, and found that the policy and legal criteria have more inter-relationship with other criteria. Then from BWM results, it is found that the support from government bodies has attained the maximum weightage. Finally, the second alternative has been identified as a more suitable location for establishing BRP using TOPSIS. Further, it is found from the results that the support from government bodies, the impact of emissions, availability of basic facilities and community health are the essential criteria under STEEP dimensions for establishing BRP. Originality/value - In addition to the various existing sustainable criteria, this study has also considered a set of policy and legal criteria for the evaluation of locations for BRP. Further, the hybrid MCDM method has been proposed in this study for selecting the best alternative. Thus, this study has yielded more insights to the decision-makers in choosing a sustainable location for BRP.