Abstract
In this paper, we present a genetic optimization algorithm embedding a Voronoi diagram to address the vehicle routing problem in waste collection. The proposed approach seeks to determine a set of delivery routes for the waste collection vehicles starting from the origin (the hauler's service center), leading to the generation nodes, picking up and transferring wastes to the treatment or disposal facilities, and finally, returning to the origin in a way which would minimize the total distance covered by the entire fleet. Furthermore, generation units are clustered into groups, for an easier and more convenient routing design of collection vehicles. Once a collection vehicle crosses an intersection of roads, it is obliged to continue and collect from the generation units it encounters in the next intersection. This fact gives the opportunity for clustering all the generation units of the same street between two consecutive intersections. In order to assign all generation units to the generation points in the most efficient manner, a Voronoi diagram is utilized to divide spaces into a number of regions called Voronoi cells. Lastly, an efficient combination of variables is determined through an embedded genetic optimization mechanism which starts with the initial population of candidate solutions subject to the overall time, capacity, and operational constraints.