Reverse logistics network design for large off-the-road scrap tires from mining sites with a single shredding...

The mining industry is one of the world's massive scrap off-the-road (OTR) tire generators. Reverse logistics (RL) allows for a cost-effective treatment of residual items with environmentally friendly practices. This paper aims to design a RL network for large OTR tires discarded from scattered mining sites, which requires a substantial initial investment in tire downsizing equipment. Therefore, the on-site use of a single shared shredding resource set is proposed with a schedule of visits between mines. Our contribution is a mixed-integer linear programming model set to determine the OTR tires optimal network, including decisions regarding a tire-fuelled power plant location, tire shredding and transport amounts, and a shredding resource set schedule to maximize the profits of the RL network while considering whole waste tire stockpile limits per year. Results showed that the proposed RL network starting from mine shredding tires and supplying a power generation plant might be a profitable solution that could help mines to comply with the legal regulations and turn this waste into a positive economic value good. Environmental and social implications are the mitigation of scrap tires, an increased job demand triggered by power plants, and public health improvement in the vicinity of the mining sites.