Vehicle routing optimization in zero waste management: A case study in Istanbul province

Human needs and desires are increasing day by day, and humans have to produce to meet these needs and desires. While people produce, they also consume resources. Depending on these production and consumption habits, the variety and amount of waste are increasing. Waste management comes into play at this point. In waste management, the priority is solution from the source. When there are situations that cannot be solved from the source, it is necessary to analyze the current situation regarding the disposal of waste and produce solutions to minimize negative situations. In recent years, improvements are being made for all kinds of situations that may be encountered in the future, as in every problem that cannot be solved from the source in waste management. In this thesis study, the Zero Waste Management Model, which is a Waste Management Strategy that has been going on for many years and has been tried to be improved with various scientific research, studies and programs, and the current situations and studies of this model within the scope of the relevant Municipalities in the metropolises have been investigated. It is aimed to obtain more than one solution in Waste Recycling. With the results obtained, it was aimed to increase the efficiency of the institution in the recycling process, including the waste collection stage, as well as to establish models that will benefit the general economy of the country, and concepts such as waste collection and recycling within the scope of Zero Waste Management were examined. The waste planning created for the district where a public institution in Istanbul is affiliated was examined. The current situation of this examined institution was analyzed, all possible and correctable situations were identified, and multiple scenarios for the future were created based on historical data. As a method, a Vehicle Routing Optimization adapted to the Linear Programming Model was used. In this study, the vehicle routing problem was examined along with related literature. Following the review, a mathematical model related to the current situation was developed and worked on using the Lingo 20.0 program. Efforts were made to improve the existing system of the institution.