Abstract
Developing an efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for solid waste collection (SWC) and transportation system remains a major challenge for municipalities. Waste collection encompasses the largest part of the total budget in current waste management systems. SWC is a crosscutting issue that can be directly or indirectly linked to 10 of the 17 United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs). This study aims to develop an SWC route optimisation model to improve collection efficiency, save collection costs and reduce emissions by considering fixed routing optimisation (FRO) with static data and variable routing optimisation (VRO) with real-time data. To realise the optimisation, a mixed-integer linear programming model utilising FRO and VRO was developed. Results show that VRO improved the collection efficiency by 26.08 % when the minimum filled-up level for collection was 70 %. Moreover, VRO achieved 44.44 % cost savings and 17.60 % carbon emission reduction at 70 % filled level. The proposed system achieved the targeted goals and demonstrated the feasibility of an optimisation model for the waste management sector to build a sustainable smart city. The findings of this study can be used to strengthen efforts towards the achievement of the SDGs related to solid waste collection and management.