Abstract
The second phase of the Basic Plan for Establishing a Recycling-Based Society introduced the concept of sound material cycle (SMC) blocks, by means of which a material cycle of optimal size is created in accordance with the characteristics of a region and the properties of its circulative resources. Although SMC blocks are implemented to increase the rate of resource circulation in the whole country, many issues must be addressed before this aim can be realized. We sorted analogous wastes and circulative resources into groups, and established a decision theory to define the ultimate SMC blocks for the various groups. We found deviations between present conditions and optimized transport solutions solved by linear programming. The use of a gravity model to analyze other factors that impose constraints showed that the source population size had a significant impact on the quantities of packaging transported. Microanalysis showed that there is an optimal size of focus on disposal facilities.
