Solid Waste Management Literature Review

2.1 GENERAL

The literature pertaining to the following areas were reviewed and presented in this chapter. The review areas include:

 Municipal Solid Waste Management

 Vehicle Routing Problem

 GIS applications in municipal services, transportation

 GA applications in transportation to find optimal routes.

Optimization models and related methods have been widely applied to different issues in solid waste management, including optimization of collection routes

(Ramachandra et al 2003), suitable location of waste bins, site selection of waste disposal (Syed Mahmood Anwar 2005, Muthiah et al 1996), site selection of transfer stations (Ramachandra et al 2003, Clarke et al 2005), and selection of networks of treatment, transport, and disposal

Both in the past and in the present, inadequate attention has been paid to engineered disposal and its practice. Waste is simply dumped on the ground, open to the atmosphere as followed elsewhere without appropriate treatment and resource recovery practice. Different types of waste bins namely cylindrical concrete bins, small wooden bins, cubic concrete bins, masonry hut bins, stone bins, cubic plastic bin, stainless steel bins (Ramachandra et al 2003, Alexandre Magrinho 2006, Shekdar 1999) are in common use in corporation

The size of each route depends on the quantity of waste collected per stop, distance between stops, loading time, and traffic conditions. Micro routing can define the specific route that the collection vehicle should follow. The method selected for micro routing must be simple enough to use for route balancing, when system changes occur or to respond to seasonal variations in waste generation rates. In order to improve the current solid waste management services, it is essential to explore the various constraints or issues such as community participation, human resource development, promoting GIS-GPS (Global Positioning System) systems to obtain reliable data on waste and legal mandates. In India, however, due to the lack of awareness and co-operation from citizens, the community bins often have a large quantity of waste littered around with only a meagre quantity deposited inside. Due to unsanitary conditions, the nearby residents object to the location of bins near their premises, thus necessitating their location at public places that are often not the best sites. An approach to assess the satisfaction level with regard to the performance of the solid waste system has been formulated and then tested through a case study. This will provide a crucial feedback to the