Models and Algorithms for the Integrated Planning of Bin Allocation and Vehicle Routing in Solid Waste Management

Vera C. Hemmelmayr (), Karl F. Doerner (), Richard F. Hartl () and Daniele Vigo ()
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Vera C. Hemmelmayr: Department of Business Administration, University of Vienna, A-1210 Wien, Austria; and Institute for Transport and Logistics Management, Vienna University of Economics and Business, 1090 Wien, Austria
Karl F. Doerner: Department of Business Administration, University of Vienna, A-1210 Wien, Austria; and Institute of Production and Logistics Management, Johannes Kepler University Linz, A-4040 Linz, Austria
Richard F. Hartl: Department of Business Administration, University of Vienna, A-1210 Wien, Austria
Daniele Vigo: Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering “G. Marconi,” University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy

Transportation Science, 2014, vol. 48, issue 1, 103-120

Abstract: The efficient organization of waste collection systems based on bins located along the streets involves the solution of several tactical optimization problems. In particular, the bin configuration and sizing at each collection site as well as the service frequency over a given planning horizon have to be decided. In this context, a higher service frequency leads to higher routing costs, but at the same time less or smaller bins are required, which leads to lower bin allocation investment costs. The bins used have different types and different costs and there is a limit on the space at each collection site as well as a limit on the total number of bins of each type that can be used. In this paper we consider the problem of designing a collection system consisting of the combination of a vehicle routing and a bin allocation problem in which the trade-off between the associated costs has to be considered. The solution approach combines an effective variable neighborhood search metaheuristic for the routing part with a mixed integer linear programming-based exact method for the solution of the bin allocation part. We propose hierarchical solution procedures where the two decision problems are solved in sequence, as well as an integrated approach where the two problems are considered simultaneously. Extensive computational testing on synthetic and real-world instances with hundreds of collection sites shows the benefit of the integrated approaches with respect to the hierarchical ones.

Keywords: waste collection; logistics; matheuristics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ortrsc:v:48:y:2014:i:1:p:103-120

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