A Heuristic Approach to the Household Waste Collection Problem

Resumen

In Chile, the household solid waste collection process is a constant concern among authorities in urban areas due to its high cost and inefficient collection routes that negatively impact the environment and the population. Therefore, the objective of this study is to solve the door-to-door household solid waste collection problem using a local search algorithm, in order to obtain efficient collection routes that minimize the distance traveled by the vehicles and ensure that all streets are served, and, as a result, satisfaction of the population is increased and the proliferation of rodents and insects are prevented. In this study, three test cases with small, medium and large sizes were used in an area of the Renca commune in Santiago, Chile with four parameter configurations and three different values for the iterations and steps. The results may be used by the authorities as a decision-making tool to improve the current household solid waste collection system.