CURBSIDE COLLECTION OF RECYCLABLES I - ROUTE TIME-ESTIMATION MODEL

Curbside collection of recyclable material can be expensive because th e inherent costs of curbside collection are high, but also because amo unts collected per residence are small compared to the total waste str eam, and extra activity may be required, such as sorting. In this pape r, a model is presented capable of estimating route time based on rout e and collection method characteristics. The rime spent traveling over the route, between stops is estimated using the distance between stop s. The lime spent collecting materials is estimated using the distance walked by the collector(s) and the mass of material collected at each set-out. Time at stop signs and traffic lights is estimated using the average observed stop time. The model is tested for one and two-perso n collection methods used in the City of the Village, OK. It is capabl e of estimating route time within 10%, on average. (C) 1998 Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.