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Two metaheuristics approaches for solving the traveling salesman problem: an Algerian waste collection case

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Abstract

Waste collection remains a very important research area in waste management to deal with environmental degradation and health risks caused by daily waste quantities of the population. However, due to financial resources limitations, there is an increasing trend towards developing waste collection systems able to meet the different requirements related to the performance of the global collection cost, the tour scheduling and the capacity of each truck, the collection times, the fuel consumption and the overall traveled distance. In this work, we investigate the waste collection problem in Tlemcen City in Algeria. The problem is represented as a traveling salesman problem. Owing to the complexity of this real-life problem, two classes of metaheuristics known as powerful approaches are used to provide useful solutions for the addressed case. A Tabu Search algorithm and a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm are integrated in a decision-making graphical interface developed to help decision makers to plan their tours. The proposed algorithms are validated using data retrieved from all areas in Tlemcen. The results show that the SA performs the best to minimize the traveled distance in the vast majority of cases.

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Acknowledgements

The authors warmly thank the municipality of Tlemcen City for their collaboration. Special thanks to the waste management team for their daily involvement and support in helping us achieve sound results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory of Tlemcen (MELT), University of Tlemcen, PB 230, 13000, Tlemcen, Algeria

    Khalid Mekamcha, Mehdi Souier, Hakim Nadhir Bessenouci & Mohammed Bennekrouf

  2. High School of Management of Tlemcen, PB 1085, 13000, Tlemcen, Algeria

    Mehdi Souier

  3. High School of Applied Sciences of Tlemcen, PB 165, 13000, Tlemcen, Algeria

    Mohammed Bennekrouf

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  1. Khalid Mekamcha
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  2. Mehdi Souier
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  3. Hakim Nadhir Bessenouci
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  4. Mohammed Bennekrouf
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Correspondence to Mehdi Souier.

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Mekamcha, K., Souier, M., Bessenouci, H.N. et al. Two metaheuristics approaches for solving the traveling salesman problem: an Algerian waste collection case. Oper Res Int J 21, 1641–1661 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-019-00529-6

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