Math Students help their Community develop Balanced Refuse Collection Routes

Abstract

In fall of 2017, the Superintendent of Public Works for Kutztown Borough approached Kutztown University’s Department of Mathematics seeking help in “re-balancing” refuse collection routes in the Borough of Kutztown. Historically, refuse was collected two days a week on the south side (Mondays and Thursdays) of Main Street and two days a week on the north side (Tuesdays and Fridays) of Main Street. Wednesdays were used for recycling collection. Over the years, new housing development was primarily on the north side of Main Street. As a result of this development, refuse collection time had become “unbalanced”; requiring more time for the north side collection. During the spring semester 2018, several math majors in their last semester at Kutztown University developed a new refuse collection strategy. This strategy balanced collection times over the four collection days and just as importantly, minimized the modifications to the existing routes. Additionally, a minimum number of residents were impacted while accounting for future housing development. Their strategy has been successfully used in the Borough of Kutztown since August 2018.