A multi-criteria decision-making approach to rank supplier selection criteria for hospital waste management: A case from Pakistan

To address environmental issues and cost effectiveness, waste management is necessary for healthcare facilities. Most importantly, segregation of hazardous and non-hazardous waste must be done as in many developing countries; disposal of both types of healthcare waste is done together, which is an unsafe practice. Waste generated in hospitals needs proper management to minimise hazards for patient and healthcare workers. At the same time, it is quite difficult for hospitals to find a systematic way to select appropriate suppliers for hospital waste management. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to identify, validate, and rank criteria that are essential for hospital waste management suppliers' selection. The analytical hierarchal process approach has been used and a survey from Pakistan's largest city (Karachi) has been considered to rank the most appropriate criteria that is necessary to select the supplier, especially in a developing country like Pakistan. Results show that waste management cost (45.5%) and suppliers' details (31.5%) are the top two main criteria for supplier selection; and storage cost (15.7%), waste handling cost (14.7%), and qualification of the suppliers (10.9%) are the top three most important overall sub-criteria for supplier selection for hospital waste management.