Waste management is gradually becoming an increasingly important aspect of logistics. Waste flows constitute an element of the physical flow of materials in the economy, hence this fact alone indicates direct links between waste flows and logistics. Logistical processes concerning waste flows in the economy are referred to by the term eco-logistics.
According to Pfohl, two basic criteria can be distinguished that differentiate eco-logistics from other logistics subsystems (such as transport or warehousing). The first of these is the flow of other logistics subsystems. The second criterion is the direction of the flow, which in the case of eco-logistics is opposite to the direction of product flow (the source of the flow is the final consumer, the next element is the retailer, the wholesaler, and the final element is the manufacturer).
This article presents the results of research concerning the flow of returnable glass bottles between the final consumer, the retailer, and the wholesaler.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2002/5.