Contextual Selection of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods for Waste Management in Low-Resource Settings: A Conceptual Framework and Comparative Analysis

Municipal solid waste management represents one of the major challenges faced by cities in low-resource settings, where data scarcity, technical constraints, and weak institutional capacities limit effective decision-making. In this context, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDA) methods provide a structured framework for evaluating and prioritizing alternatives, although their transferability remains uneven. This paper proposes a conceptual and comparative framework to identify, among five reference methods (AHP, TOPSIS, ELECTRE, PROMETHEE, and Fuzzy MCDA), those most suitable for constrained environments. The evaluation is based on five selection criteria: data availability, ease of use, robustness, cost, and social acceptability. The results highlight the superiority of AHP, whose flexibility and transparency meet the decision-making needs of low-resource cities, while more complex methods show applicability conditioned by the level of institutional development. The discussion emphasizes a gradual methodological progression from simple approaches toward more sophisticated hybrid models. This reproducible and adaptable framework helps fill a methodological gap by providing a decision-support tool for selecting MCDA methods in urban planning and sustainable waste management in low-resource countries.