Optimization of Waste Collection in Smart Cities with the use of Evolutionary Algorithms

With the growth of population, there is an inevitable increase in solid waste especially in urban areas. For the municipalities, especially in smart cities, this becomes a major problem in nature, and it leads to many socio-economic and environmental problems. Thus, lowering our living standards. To eliminate or minimize these problems, using the Internet of Things (IOT) technology is the most advantageous solution for collecting solid wastes within this scope. In this paper, we proposed an optimal waste collection mechanism with the use of some IoT devices in the garbage cans which show the level of waste in them. For testing the proposal, we select a sample environment as a specific region of Istanbul, which is named as Bakirkoy. With the use of sensors, it is aimed to detect which cans are needed to be visited. Then with the use of an evolutionary algorithm, Genetic Algorithm, best path for visiting these cans can be planned in a very short time. By using this approach, it is aimed to effectively use the workforce/resources of the smart cities and making less traffic jam on the roads. Experimental results showed that the proposed system results very good enhancement in the waste collection operations.