Improvement of a solid waste collection system: the case of Givatayim, Israel

The increasing quantities of solid waste and the high costs of its collection call for modifications of the collection routes in urban areas, in order to reduce the number of collecting teams and the distances travelled by them. Several mathematical models, aiming at the optimization of route length, are examined in this paper. It is suggested that the solutions derived from these models are only partial and that they cannot fully handle some of the constraints which the collection routing problem involves. The preferred method, therefore, is the heuristic model which is based on manual analysis of the routes system using a set of specified rules. This method is, then, used for an analysis and modification of the waste collection routes of Givatayim, Israel. Implementation of the proposed routes may save the town one out of six collection teams and would reduce the total distance travelled by some 18.7 per cent.