Vehicle routing implementation for medical waste collecting as a reverse logistic activity

Rapid proliferation of industrial activities coupled with a steady population growth inevitably lead to the speedy consumption of natural resources and, concomitantly, environmental pollution. Businesses have already started feeling the heat of environmental pressures more acutely due to factors such as strict legal regulations, social responsibility movements and dearth of natural resources. The cultivation and dissemination of pro-environmental attitudes, on the other hand, have caused manufacturers and academics alike to divert more of their attention to reverse logistics. The concept of reverse logistics, which comprises sub-activities such as repair, rejuvenation, reproduction, product cannibalisation, recycling and waste management, refers to the reverse flow of materials and /or information. As such, this study, which primarily focuses on waste management, one of the staple reverse logistics activities, addresses the issue of medical waste collection. Medical waste management has recently become one of the most pressing environmental issues. The collection, packaging and storing of medical waste from their production to their disposal without causing damage to human health and the environment as well as their safe transport to locations for their sterilization and / or annihilation are a matter of great significance. As a corollary to that, the current study addresses the issue of the correct and cost-efficient transport of medical waste. The study also mentions vehicle routing problems and contains a sample application done using data from a medical waste collection and sterilization facility in Sakarya. The actual distance between the centers has been measured – with reference to the location of health centers receiving medical waste collection services – using digital maps and presented in a distance matrix format. In the application section, a new collection center has been recommended as an alternative to the existing one. The Center of Gravity Method has been used when choosing the new collection center and all routes have been rearranged according to the new center's location and compared with the current state of operations in terms of effectiveness. The objective of the application is to find an ideal route that will minimize the distance that needs to be travelled by medical waste collecting vehicles. Minimizing of the travel distance will also help minimize transportation costs of medical waste.