Waste collection: fixed routes and bins emptied half full
Why waste collection runs fixed routes and empties half-full containers, what it costs in fuel and crews, and how to check a fill estimate and route plan.
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Collection routes are fixed
What happens. The routes are drawn once and driven every week in the same order. A new housing area, a road closure, a changed collection day or a new vehicle means another round of corrections by the dispatcher.
What it costs. Fuel, driver hours and wear on vehicles that drive past streets where little needs emptying. Overtime on days when a route is too long, and idle time on the days when it is short.
Why the usual fix fails. Moving a few stops by hand fixes the most obvious problem and no more. A route planning tool that treats every stop as equal ignores how full the containers really are and how long each stop takes.
How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From your tour records (stops, times, distances, weights, fuel, breakdowns) I look at how far the routes differ from what a planned route would be, and what limits (shifts, vehicle size, tipping sites) apply. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you whether an optimised plan is worth it for your area and what data it would need.
Background: Optimal paths, schedules and setpoint plans
Containers are emptied half full
What happens. Containers are emptied on a fixed day whether they are full or not. Nobody knows the fill level between the visits, so the crew finds out at the kerb.
What it costs. Trips and stops that bring little. At the other end, containers that overflow before the next visit lead to complaints and extra trips.
Why the usual fix fails. Fill sensors in every container are a cost and a maintenance job of their own, and they fail in dirt and cold. Counting on the average fill is the same as the fixed day.
How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From records of weights, container sizes, collection days and complaints I look at whether the fill level of a container can be estimated, for example from household size, weather or earlier weights. The fixed-price remote diagnosis answers how reliable such an estimate would be and whether it can steer the routes.
Background: Optimal paths, schedules and setpoint plans
More problems that concern this industry
These problems are described on the page of the industry where they matter most:
- Routes are planned by hand, dispatchers are short (Haulage and depot operators)
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