Effective municipal solid waste collection using geospatial information systems for transportation: A case study of two metropolitan cities in Pakistan

Syeda Mahlaqa Hina, Joseph Szmerekovsky, EunSu Lee, Muhammad Amin and Syeda Arooj

Research in Transportation Economics, 2020, vol. 84, issue C

Abstract: Transportation plays a leading role in waste collection and disposal for solid waste management as collection activities account for the majority of the cost of solid waste management. This study proposes a methodology for routing collection vehicles in the twin cities (i.e. Islamabad and Rawalpindi) of Pakistan. In particular, the study's application-based vehicle routing problem (VRP) accommodates a variety of practical rules such as zone constraints, vehicle capacities, time windows, road infrastructure, and commodity type. As a pilot study, eleven routes were selected in different areas of the twin cities to minimize the length of the routes and consequently the time taken to complete the collection. Results indicate that travel distance was reduced by up to 18% in Islamabad and 9% in Rawalpindi. The collection time was also reduced from 7.5 h to 5.8 h and 8.3 h–7.2 h for Islamabad and Rawalpindi, respectively. Our research provides a decision support tool for municipal administrators for efficient management of the daily operations of solid waste management. Other spatial data can be added in the future to enhance the utility of our model, such as generation of capacity for various residential areas, types of dumping vehicles, and enhanced road network operations.

Keywords: Municipal solid waste; Vehicle routing problem; Geospatial techniques; Pakistan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2020.100950

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