Optimization of municipal solid waste collection routes in a Latin-American context
Creators: name: Benitez-Bravo, Reyes
name: Gomez-González, Ricardo
name: Rivas-García, Pasiano
name: Botello-Álvarez, José Enrique
name: Huerta-Guevara, Oscar Francisco
name: García-León, Azucena Minerva
name: Rueda-Avellaneda, Juan Felipe
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Space Science
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: Ecology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: 80699 Information Systems not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: Science Policy

description: Latin-American cities need efficient municipal solid waste (MSW) collection systems, specifically in municipalities with fast urbanization. Poor logistics in collection routes is one of the causes of inefficient MSW management. A strategy for designing the MSW collection routes, considering an environmental and economic analysis, was developed and tested in the Metropolitan Area of Monterrey (MMA), one of the cities with the highest urban and economic development in Mexico. Life cycle assessment and costs analysis were performed to evaluate archetypal routes’ environmental and economic impact in the current MSW collection system. The assessment of the environmental impact was realized through midpoint indicators of the ReCiPe 2008 method. The mathematical model describing the collection routes was developed using actual data from the MSW collection system in MMA, optimized by the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), and solved in RStudio. This study shows a reduction of between 9 and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and distance covered in current collection stages, respectively. The results also demonstrate the influence of road direction, collection-truck efficiency, and traffic load in different stage on the environmental and economic impacts of the collection routes. A life cycle inventory, with realistic inputs and outputs of the MSW collection system, was developed. These inventories are scarce in Mexico and Latin America; their development helps designing cleaner MSW collection systems. <i>Implications</i>: The optimization of urban solid waste collection systems is a strategy to reduce costs and environmental impacts, considering factors such as distance or fuel consumption. However, mathematical models within the optimization require detailed information of the road network to achieve reliable results. In this context, Latin America shows difficulties in increasing its collection systems’ efficiency due to economic constraints and limited access to information from locals governments. The use of geographic information systems has been shown to collect real data on a city’s roads. This work aims to propose a strategy for designing urban solid waste collection routes with the least environmental and economic impacts through an optimization strategy that considers the road network’s real-time data, added to an environmental analysis developed with a life cycle assessment approach. We believe that our results could help the design of urban solid waste collection systems for cities with Latin American characteristics. Additionally, an inventory of specific inputs and emissions for waste collection in this type of city will be generated, supporting future sustainable management strategies.