A γ-Cut-Based MCDM Technique for Assessment of Biomedical Waste Management Under Generalized Heptagonal Fuzzy Environment

Healthcare is essential for survival, but poor biomedical waste management (BWM) harms the ecosystem, including plants and animals, and directly influences human health. BWM is vital to maintaining environmental sustainability and public health. There are meaningful challenges in evaluating the efficacy of BWM because of the inherent uncertainties and complexity associated with waste characteristics and disposal methods. This paper proposes a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method for an exhaustive appraisal of the biomedical waste management. To successfully manage biomedical waste in the system, we developed a γ-cut area-based fuzzy MCDM method in this study. Also, to measure the performance of the BWM techniques, we invented a γ-cut area ranking method under the generalized heptagonal fuzzy number (GHpFN) environment. In the BWM system, we considered five BWM techniques (Incineration (A1), Microwaves (A2), Autoclaving (A3), Chemical treatment (A4), and Recycling (A5)) and to assess the BWM techniques based on technological sustainability, health and safety, environmental impact, and cost-effectiveness criteria. The results revealed that autoclaving achieved the highest ranking by the cut area ranking method, indicating its superior efficiency, compliance with regulations, and environmental impact. The ranking order by the proposed method is Ar3>Ar2>Ar4>Ar5>Ar1. The ranking provides practical insights for policy-makers and healthcare administrators, emphasizing the need to adopt the strategic practices employed by Autoclaving. In the biomedical system, the suggested method promotes sustainable waste management techniques and offers practitioners and policy-makers a valuable tool for improving waste management strategies.