Waste Collection Route Optimization
PACKLab Project: How can optimization modeling redesign campus waste collection schedules to minimize travel time and handle changing vehicle availability?
An Industrial and Systems Engineering Senior Design team redesigned routes and created a flexible planning tool to streamline on-campus landfill, recycling and compost collection.
Project Overview
Team: Industrial and Systems Engineering Senior Design course, Waste Reduction and Recycling
Duration: Fall 2023
Status: Complete
Focus: Transportation
Summary
To address collection efficiency across the NC State campus, a senior design team utilized mathematical optimization tools to overhaul routes and schedules for landfill, recycling and compost collection. Recognizing real-world resource constraints, the team also built a flexible planning tool designed to dynamically adapt schedules based on changing daily vehicle availability.
Findings
The redesigned routes and adaptive planning tool were shown to reduce total truck travel time while bolstering overall operational resilience and efficiency.
