Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
percentage at each sorting unit; assigning vehicles to collection trips; defining
their route; and estimating the work capacity (productivity) of sorting units, in
relation to the waste arrival and processing (separation). The system basically
aids the solid waste collection operational management through the generation,
analysis, and assessment of possible operational scenarios for this type of
collection. The system was developed using the Borland Delphi environment
and the commercial software Arena to carry out the simulations. Results from
the system were validated using real data from the solid waste collection in the
city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. By using the system, it is possible to obtain a
mean reduction of 8.82% in the distance (43.8 km less) to be covered by the
collection vehicles and a reduction of 17.89% in the weekly number of trips.
The distances covered weekly would decrease 262.8 km, leading to an annual
reduction estimated at 13,665 km. Concerning the number of trips, the current
mean is 27.3 trips per day (163.8 per week). Using SCOLDSS, the average
number of trips would be 134.9 weekly trips (reduction of 17.89%), which
would result in an annual reduction of 1502 trips. These results outperform the
current operation planning deployed. The authors feel the system has great
potential as an effective support tool to be used in real world solid waste
systems.
El-Hamouz (2008) demonstrates how advantageous the application of a
logistical management strategy can be used for rescheduling municipal solid
waste collection systems, reallocating street solid waste containers, and
minimizing vehicle routing. The author used real field data to test the methods
in Tubas, West Bank. The application was tested by the private sector for 1
month. The new system proved to be successful in terms of greater efficiency,
coverage and quality of service. The total cost of collection was found to be
US$21 per ton of solid waste. These reduced collection costs to a level that is
socially acceptable (US$3.75/family/month) as well as economically and
environmentally sound.
The City of Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA and its solid waste collection
system, or lack thereof, is a perfect candidate for a GIS-based solid waste
collection strategy. The current collection system is highly inefficient with too
many solid waste companies and too many miles traveled. This article presents
the application of GIS for residential solid waste collection in the City of
Altoona to demonstrate the system's inefficiencies and also present alternate
scenarios that improve the collection process. Information for this research
specific to solid waste collection in the city was obtained from several sources
including: the Executive Director of the Intermunicipal Relations Committee
(IRC), the Director of the Blair County Department of Solid Waste and
