Combining an artificial intelligence algorithm and a novel vehicle for sustainable e-waste collection.

Mobile collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment is a collection method that is convenient for residents and companies. New opportunities to use mobile apps and internet applications facilitate the ordering of waste pickups from households and preparation of a collection plan for a waste collection company. It improves the secondary raw materials collection in a circular economy approach after recycling waste equipment. This study presents a combined methodology for improving the efficiency of e-waste collection. An online e-waste collection supporting system uses a Harmony Search algorithm for route optimization of waste collection vehicles. The results of the optimization are better compared to other artificial intelligence algorithms presented in the literature and the number of visited collection points is higher from 1.2%-6.6% depending on the compared algorithm. To increase the efficiency of waste loading and packing, a novel collection vehicle body construction is presented. The design includes the convenient loading of waste from both sides of the vehicle and the rear side being equipped with a hydraulic lift. The proposed vehicle model can be used for e-waste collection in places with limited parking spaces or where the parking time is limited, such as in densely populated city centers. The waste equipment packing efficiency increases and eliminates the necessity of including a container loading problem in the algorithm and allows increasing waste equipment number loaded in a collection vehicle.

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