Modeling the problem of locating collection areas for urban waste management. An application to the metropolitan area of Barcelona

Reverse logistics problems arising in municipal waste management are both wide-ranging and varied. The usual collection system in UE countries is composed of two phases. First, citizens leave their refuse at special collection areas where different types of waste (glass, paper, plastic, organic mate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Omega (Oxford) 2006-12, Vol.34 (6), p.617-629
Main Authors: Bautista, Joaquín, Pereira, Jordi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Consumer goods industry
Correlation analysis
Genetic algorithms
GRASP
Heuristic
Location
Logistics
MAX-SAT
Municipal solid waste
Municipal waste management
Municipal waste management Location Set covering MAX-SAT Genetic algorithms GRASP
Services
Set covering
Studies
Waste disposal
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Summary:Reverse logistics problems arising in municipal waste management are both wide-ranging and varied. The usual collection system in UE countries is composed of two phases. First, citizens leave their refuse at special collection areas where different types of waste (glass, paper, plastic, organic material) are stored in special refuse bins. Subsequently, each type of waste is collected separately and moved to its final destination (a recycling plant or refuse dump). The present study focuses on the problem of locating these collection areas. We establish the relationship between the problem, the set covering problem and the MAX-SAT problem and then go on to develop a genetic algorithm and a GRASP heuristic to, respectively, solve each formulation. Finally, the quality of the algorithms is tested in a computational experience with real instances from the metropolitan area of Barcelona, as well as a reduced set of set covering instances from the literature.
ISSN:0305-0483
1873-5274
DOI:10.1016/j.omega.2005.01.013