Currently, waste collection operations are inefficient, as they are generally carried out following fixed and non-optimised approaches. For example, collection routes and schedules are not calculated according to the current fill level of the bins and containers are often collected even when they are almost empty. On the other hand, frequently used bins can fill up and overflow before collection takes place, which can often cause waste to build up in the surrounding area. In recent years, the emergence of IoT technologies has opened up completely new possibilities for city planners to improve.
 

Conclusions

This thesis designed a tool that, based on data measured by a network of smart bins (e.g. their fill level), enables operators to plan optimised waste collection. This tool consists of two main parts. The first is a web application that allows municipal administrators to monitor the fill level of the bins and the events generated by them, as well as to visualise the calculated collection routes. The second consists of a mobile application that allows vehicle drivers to navigate the planned route, indicating the locations of the bins involved. The core of the proposed system, responsible for calculating the collection routes, exploits the potential of an open source optimisation engine to solve a variant of the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP).