Solid waste collection system in Ipoh city

Solid waste collection remains the main concern in urban planning, involving engineering strategy and approach. Collection of solid waste, which takes 70–85% of total solid waste management cost, if being managed carelessly will result in longer travel distance and inefficient schedule design. The consequences are high cost management and air and river pollution. The main objective of this review paper is to collect information regarding solid waste collection and transportation in Ipoh and suggest a proper route optimization which emphasizes on recycling of generated solid waste. Solid waste recycling is one of the main components of integrated solid waste management (ISWM) which has not been practiced well in majority of the cities in Malaysia. Ipoh city consists of 22 zones, forming an area of 643 sq.km. The generation rate of 0.85 kg/capita per day is increasing by 5.4% per annum, a rapid increment of waste generated. A day-to-day assessment on the collection practices are highlighted which involve curb collection from house-to-house and backyard collection in industrial areas. Collector vehicles is parked overnight in a depot located in Buntong and will daily collect and dispose accumulated collected waste to a dumping site in Bercham. While all stages from collection and final disposal are finished in 5 hours, no integrated recycling activities were found in Ipoh due to lack of ISWM. Therefore, a new optimized route which provides specified time, crew and vehicles for collection of recyclables is suggested via application of Geographical Information System (GIS).