ABSTRACT

The purpose of this case study was to understand better the application of Lean Six Sigma principles in government-controlled operations for municipal recycling collection and processing. Specically, the objective of the project was to improve the processes and operations for a material recovery facility (MRF) located in Toledo, Ohio, USA that was operated by the local government. This included aligning and optimizing processes and removal of process-generated defects and errors. These improvements primarily focused on the reduction of municipal solid waste (MSW) entering local landlls, optimization cycle times for the MRF, enhancement end user/ customer satisfaction, efciency improvements, cost reduction, and the elimination of errors/ defects. The intent of these objectives were twofold: rst to demonstrate that Lean Six Sigma techniques can be successful applied in the material recovery industry and second, that these techniques can be successfully applied in a government-controlled operation.