MODELING MUNICIPAL WASTE COLLECTION USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Even though there are numerous solutions for this process in the literature, calculating adequate vehicle routes for collecting municipal waste is still an open problem. There is still a disconnection between academics and industry professionals. The fact that academic tools are frequently difficult for actual users to operate and maintain is one of the apparent causes of this rift. The issue of municipal rubbish collection is modelled in this work utilizing a user friendly but effective—and notably straightforward—solution. The solution was based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques and applied to real-world data. Three cases of different magnitudes were resolved, and in each case, a significant improvement was made. Specifically, a total theoretical reduction of 49% of the itineraries was achieved, which was partially adopted by the waste collection company as it had to consider additional restrictions.