Optimization and profit distribution in a two-echelon collaborative waste collection routing problem from economic and environmental perspective

Abstract

In order to reduce waste collection costs and realize sustainable urban development, this paper investigates a two-echelon collaborative waste collection vehicle routing problem (2E-CWCVRP), considering the cooperation and profit distribution between participants in the collection network. An optimization model for 2E-CWCVRP with the aim to minimize total costs and carbon emissions is constructed. Then, a three-stage solution approach is developed to solve this model, including a k-means clustering for simplifying the problem, and a hybrid heuristic for searching the optimal vehicle routes based on Clarke & Wright algorithm and an adaptive large neighborhood search algorithm (CW-ALNS). Finally, an improved Shapley value model is constructed for determining the costs and carbon emissions reduction amount and the best alliance sequence of each participant. The experiment results indicate that: (1) the effectiveness of CW-ALNS algorithm is verified through the benchmark instances; (2) the costs and carbon emissions of the collection network could be reduced simultaneously after the implementation of cooperation; (3) constructing a large collection and transfer network is more efficient than dividing the network into several individual parts. Finally, different alliance sequences are analyzed from the economics and environment perspective and the best alliance sequences are determined.