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Municipal Solid Waste Collection 115
For large areas, macrorouting is best accomplished by first dividing the entire community into dis-
tricts. Each district is subsequently divided into routes for individual crews. Using the results of the
macrorouting analysis, microrouting will designate the specific path that each crew and collection vehi-
cle will take on a given day. Results of microrouting analyses can then be used to readjust macrorout-
ing decisions. Microrouting analyses and planning can accomplish the following (U.S. EPA, 2003):
• Increase the likelihood that all streets will be serviced equally and consistently.
• Help supervisors locate crews quickly because they know the specific routes that will be
taken.
• Provide potentially optimal routes that can be tested against the driver’s experience to
provide the best actual routes.

The method selected for microrouting must be simple enough to be used for route adjustments;
for example, seasonal variations in waste generation will require adjustments. Seasonal fluctuations
in waste generation can be accommodated by providing fewer, larger routes during low-generation
periods (typically winter) and increasing the number of routes during high-generation periods
(spring and fall).

5.3.9 ROUTE DEVELOPMENT
The Office of Solid Waste Management Programs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
developed a simple, noncomputerized “heuristic” (i.e., manual) approach to collection vehicle rout-
ing based on certain logical principles. The EPA developed the method to promote efficient routing
layout and to minimize the number of turns and dead space encountered (U.S. EPA, 1974b). This
method relies on developing, recognizing, and using certain patterns that repeat in every munici-
pality. Using this approach, route planners can place tracing paper over a large-scale block map. The
map should show collection service garage locations, disposal or transfer sites, one-way streets, nat-
ural barriers, and areas of heavy traffic flow. Routes should then be traced onto the tracing paper
using the rules presented below:
1. Routes should not be fragmented or overlapped. Each route should be compact, consist-
ing of street segments clustered in the same geographical area.
2. Total collection plus haul times should be reasonably constant for each route in the com-
munity (equivalent workloads).
3. The collection route should be started as close to the garage or motor pool as possible,
taking into account heavily traveled and one-way streets (see rules 4 and 5).
4. Waste from heavily traveled streets should not be collected during rush hours.
5. In the case of one-way streets, it is best to start the route near the upper end of the street,
working it through the looping process (see Figure 5.4).
6. Services on dead-end streets can be considered as services on the street segment that they
intersect, since the waste can only be collected by passing down the street segment. To
keep left turns to a minimum, wastes should be collected from the dead-end streets when
they are to the right of the truck. They must be collected by walking down, backing down,
or making a U-turn.
7. When practical, service stops on steep hills should take place on both sides of the street
while the vehicle is moving downhill, for safety, ease, speed of collection, reduction of
the wear on vehicle, and conservation of fuel and oil.
8. Higher elevations should be at the start of the route.
9. For collection from one side of the street at a time, it is generally best to route with many
clockwise turns around blocks.
10. For collection from both sides of the street at the same time, it is generally best to route
with long, straight paths across the grid before looping clockwise.
11. For certain block configurations within the route, specific patterns should be applied.