Goal Programming Approach of a Multi-vehicle Routing Problem on Waste Collection Considering Economic, Environmental, Time, and Health Objectives

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management is widely being practiced in the current times due to the rapid waste generation of humans of the increasing human population. However, the practice of MSW management through its facilities and activities can potentially harm the health of individuals and the environment. With this, proper disposal, methods, and tools are continuously being developed to optimize resources, routes, and scheduling of waste collection and reduce the negative impacts on the environment and humans. A common tool is the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) model, where this study developed a VRP model that considers multi-vehicles and multi-objectives through the Goal Programming approach and covers the research gap of considering objectives in economic, environmental, health, and time. The model is run using General Algebraic Modelling Software (GAMS) to validate it and perform sensitivity analysis to further study the model behavior. The study was able to produce a VRP model that is able to consider all these objectives and propose a method to safely collect and dispose of waste while reducing other negative impacts to the environment and community.