Loading article...
Loading article...
Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
-
Paper ID:
IJSREM64514
Volume:
10 |
6 |
Jun 2026
Pages:
1-6
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
School of Aviation, Logistics and Tourism Management (SALTM)
Galgotias University
The sugar industry is one of the most significant agro-based industries in India and generates large quantities of waste such as bagasse, bagasse ash, press mud, and spent wash. Improper management of these wastes can lead to environmental pollution, resource wastage, and increased operational costs. Therefore, selecting the most suitable waste management strategy has become an important challenge for sugar mills. This study aims to prioritize waste management strategies in the sugar industry using an integrated Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) framework consisting of the Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) methods. Three evaluation criteria were considered: Economic Viability, Technical Feasibility, and Environmental & Compliance Impact. Primary data were collected from ten experts including environmental officers, plant managers, engineers, and consultants from the sugar industry. SWARA was applied to determine the importance weights of the criteria, while WASPAS was used to evaluate and rank seven alternative waste management strategies. The SWARA results revealed that Economic Viability (0.447) is the most important criterion, followed by Technical Feasibility (0.313) and Environmental & Compliance Impact (0.240). The WASPAS results showed that Cogeneration Upgrade (110 kg/cm²) achieved the highest overall score (0.982) and ranked first among the alternatives. Spent Wash: MEE + Incineration ranked second (0.878), while 2G Ethanol from Bagasse/Trash ranked third (0.838). The findings indicate that sugar industry experts prefer waste management solutions that simultaneously provide economic benefits, technical practicality, and environmental sustainability. The study offers a structured framework that can support strategic decision-making and sustainable waste utilization in the sugar industry.
KEYWORDS
This study applied an integrated SWARA–WASPAS framework to prioritize waste management strategies in the sugar industry. The findings revealed that Economic Viability is the most important decision criterion, followed by Technical Feasibility and Environmental & Compliance Impact. Among the evaluated alternatives, Cogeneration Upgrade (110 kg/cm²) emerged as the best strategy, followed by Spent Wash: MEE + Incineration and 2G Ethanol from Bagasse/Trash. These alternatives offer a balanced combination of profitability, operational practicality, and environmental sustainability. The study confirms that waste management should be viewed not merely as a regulatory requirement but as a strategic opportunity for resource recovery, revenue generation, and sustainable industrial development.
Blomsma, F., & Brennan, G. (2017). The emergence of circular economy: A new framing around prolonging resource productivity. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21(3), 603–614. Gbadeyan, O. J., Sibiya, L., Linganiso, L. Z., & Deenadayalu, N. (2024). Waste-to-energy: The recycling and reuse of sugar industry waste for different value-added products. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 18, 1639–1657. Jiménez Borges, R., et al. (2024). Delphi/AHP-based method for biomass sustainable assessment in the sugar industry. Eng, 5(3), 2300–2319. Mardiana, S., Widhiastuti, R., & Erningpraja, L. (2020). Management and employees' perception analysis on sugar industry waste management based on cleaner production. BIoEx Journal, 2(1), 442–449. Nunes, L. J. R., et al. (2020). Sugarcane industry waste recovery using thermochemical conversion technologies. Applied Sciences, 10(18), 6481. Sarkar, S. (2019). Problems of sugar industry management system in India. IRJET, 6(8), 1105–1109. Tighnavard Balasbaneh, A., Aldrovandi, S., & Sher, W. (2025). Multi-criteria decision-making approaches for circular economy and cost assessment. Sustainability, 17(11), 5007. Yan, H., Qamruzzaman, M., & Kor, S. (2023). Green investment and clean energy for sustainable development. Sustainability, 15(18), 13591.
Publication Date
6/5/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
Documents
Article Views
0
Total views since publication
PDF Downloads
4
Total downloads since publication
Geographic Reach
5
Digital Preservation: This article is permanently archived on Zenodo and complies with all data preservation standards across major indexing platforms.
Plagiarism Screening
This manuscript has been checked for plagiarism using TurnitinPlagiarismChecker software.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this research work.
Funding Information
No funding information available for this research.
Related research in the same subject area
Loading similar articles...