ABSTRACT

Latin-American cities need efficient municipal solid waste (MSW) collection systems, specifically in municipalities with fast urbanization. Poor logistics in collection routes is one of the causes of inefficient MSW management. A strategy for designing the MSW collection routes, considering an environmental and economic analysis, was developed and tested in the Metropolitan Area of Monterrey (MMA), one of the cities with the highest urban and economic development in Mexico. Life cycle assessment and costs analysis were performed to evaluate archetypal routes’ environmental and economic impact in the current MSW collection system. The assessment of the environmental impact was realized through midpoint indicators of the ReCiPe 2008 method. The mathematical model describing the collection routes was developed using actual data from the MSW collection system in MMA, optimized by the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), and solved in RStudio. This study shows a reduction of between 9 and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and distance covered in current collection stages, respectively. The results also demonstrate the influence of road direction, collection-truck efficiency, and traffic load in different stage on the environmental and economic impacts of the collection routes. A life cycle inventory, with realistic inputs and outputs of the MSW collection system, was developed. These inventories are scarce in Mexico and Latin America; their development helps designing cleaner MSW collection systems.

Implications: The optimization of urban solid waste collection systems is a strategy to reduce costs and environmental impacts, considering factors such as distance or fuel consumption. However, mathematical models within the optimization require detailed information of the road network to achieve reliable results. In this context, Latin America shows difficulties in increasing its collection systems’ efficiency due to economic constraints and limited access to information from locals governments. The use of geographic information systems has been shown to collect real data on a city’s roads. This work aims to propose a strategy for designing urban solid waste collection routes with the least environmental and economic impacts through an optimization strategy that considers the road network’s real-time data, added to an environmental analysis developed with a life cycle assessment approach. We believe that our results could help the design of urban solid waste collection systems for cities with Latin American characteristics. Additionally, an inventory of specific inputs and emissions for waste collection in this type of city will be generated, supporting future sustainable management strategies.

摘要

拉丁美洲城市需要高效的城市固体废物 (MSW) 收集系统，特别是在快速城市化的城市。收集路线中的物流不畅是 MSW 管理效率低下的原因之一。考虑到环境和经济分析，设计垃圾收集路线的策略在蒙特雷大都市区 (MMA) 制定和测试，该地区是墨西哥城市和经济发展最快的城市之一。进行了生命周期评估和成本分析，以评估当前 MSW 收集系统中典型路线的环境和经济影响。环境影响评估通过 ReCiPe 2008 方法的中点指标实现。描述收集路线的数学模型是使用 MMA 中 MSW 收集系统的实际数据开发的，通过旅行商问题 (TSP) 进行优化，并在 RStudio 中求解。该研究表明，当前收集阶段的温室气体排放量和距离分别减少了 9% 至 20%。结果还证明了不同阶段道路方向、收集车效率和交通负荷对收集路线的环境和经济影响的影响。制定了生命周期清单，其中包含 MSW 收集系统的实际输入和输出。这些库存在墨西哥和拉丁美洲稀缺；他们的开发有助于设计更清洁的 MSW 收集系统。该研究表明，当前收集阶段的温室气体排放量和距离分别减少了 9% 至 20%。结果还证明了不同阶段道路方向、收集车效率和交通负荷对收集路线的环境和经济影响的影响。制定了生命周期清单，其中包含 MSW 收集系统的实际输入和输出。这些库存在墨西哥和拉丁美洲稀缺；他们的开发有助于设计更清洁的 MSW 收集系统。该研究表明，当前收集阶段的温室气体排放量和距离分别减少了 9% 至 20%。结果还证明了不同阶段道路方向、收集车效率和交通负荷对收集路线的环境和经济影响的影响。制定了生命周期清单，其中包含 MSW 收集系统的实际输入和输出。这些库存在墨西哥和拉丁美洲稀缺；他们的开发有助于设计更清洁的 MSW 收集系统。不同阶段的交通负荷对收集路线的环境和经济影响。制定了生命周期清单，其中包含 MSW 收集系统的实际输入和输出。这些库存在墨西哥和拉丁美洲稀缺；他们的开发有助于设计更清洁的 MSW 收集系统。不同阶段的交通负荷对收集路线的环境和经济影响。制定了生命周期清单，其中包含 MSW 收集系统的实际输入和输出。这些库存在墨西哥和拉丁美洲稀缺；他们的开发有助于设计更清洁的 MSW 收集系统。

影响：城市固体废物收集系统的优化是一种降低成本和环境影响的策略，考虑到距离或燃料消耗等因素。然而，优化中的数学模型需要道路网络的详细信息才能获得可靠的结果。在这种情况下，由于经济限制和从地方政府获取信息的机会有限，拉丁美洲在提高其收集系统的效率方面表现出困难。地理信息系统的使用已被证明可以收集城市道路的真实数据。这项工作旨在提出一种策略，通过考虑道路网络实时数据的优化策略，设计对环境和经济影响最小的城市固体废物收集路线，添加到使用生命周期评估方法开发的环境分析中。我们相信，我们的研究结果有助于为具有拉丁美洲特色的城市设计城市固体废物收集系统。此外，还将生成此类城市垃圾收集的特定投入和排放清单，以支持未来的可持续管理战略。