Module-II (SWM)
Collection & Transportation
• Types, equipment, personnel requirements, analysis & collection
system, collection routes, types of transfer stations, transport
means and methods
• SSC: Location of transfer stations & Route optimisation
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Collection process
Involves five different Phases
Phase 1 - House to dustbin
Phase 2 - Dustbin to truck
Phase 3 - Truck from house to house
Phase 4 - Truck to transfer station
Phase 5 - Truck to disposal
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Collection services
I. Curb (curb side): The home owner is responsible for placing and
returning the empty container.
II. Set-out (block collection): Owner is responsible for returning the
container. The full containers are brought or set at the collection site by
the crew. Bins are not left out on the street for long periods.
III. Backyard carrying service (door to door collection): Collection
crews that go along with the collection vehicle are responsible for
bringing out stored solid waste from the dwelling units. It is the only
satisfactory system in which the householder does not get involved.
IV. Alleys: a narrow street or path between buildings in a town. That is
difficult to get the container and also to the vehicle that will collect the
waste.
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Method of loading the solid waste on the vehicle
a. Directly lifting and carrying of container
b. Rolling of loaded containers on their rims
c. Use of small lifts for rolling the containers to the collection vehicle
d. Use of large containers into which wastes from small containers are
emptied
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Collection vehicles – Manpower
Collection Vehicles in Municipal Solid Waste Management
• Waste collection is carried out by a collector and collection crew
• The crew moves through the service area using a suitable vehicle to collect
waste.
Factors Affecting Selection of Collection Vehicle
• Terrain conditions (urban, rural, hilly, congested areas)
• Type of waste generated
• Density of waste generation points
• Travel distance and route conditions
• Type and characteristics of waste material
• Strength, stature, and capability of the collection crew
• Operational and environmental conditions (UNEP, 1996)
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Types of Collection Vehicles
• Small and simple vehicles
• Two-wheeled hand carts
• Manually operated
• Suitable for narrow streets and small waste quantities
• Large and mechanized vehicles
• Rear-loading compactor trucks
• Energy-intensive
• Suitable for high-density urban areas
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(i) Small-scale collection and muscle -powered vehicles
• Commonly used in many countries for waste collection.
• Generally suitable for rural and hilly areas.
Types
• Small rickshaws
• Hand carts
• Animal-drawn wagons
Advantages
• Less expensive compared to mechanized vehicles
• Easy to construct
• Simple to operate and maintain
• Suitable for densely populated areas
• Can move easily through narrow lanes
• Appropriate for squatter settlements
• Suitable where waste generation volume is low
Drawbacks
• Limited travel range
• Low carrying capacity
• Exposure to weather conditions (sun, rain, etc.)
• Physical strain on humans and animals
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Non-Compactor Trucks
• Suitable Areas
• Efficient and cost-effective in small cities.
• Suitable where waste is dense and has low potential for compaction.
• Discharge Requirement
• Must have a proper dumping system for easy unloading of waste.
• Covering of Trucks
• Trucks should be covered to:
• Prevent waste from flying off during transport.
• Protect waste from rain soaking.
• Capacity
• Common effective capacity: 10–12 m³.
• Distance Criteria
• Effective when the disposal site is less than 15 km from the collection area.
• If distance is more than 15 km, a transfer station should be located:
• Within 10 km from the collection area.
• Labour Cost Consideration
• Generally used when labour cost is high.
• Operational Consideration
• Collection route length and population density influence selection.
• Operating and control costs become critical when:
• Routes are long.
• Areas are sparsely populated 10
Compactor Truck
• Common Usage
• Compactor trucks are widely used in modern solid waste management systems.
• Capacity
• Typical capacity: 12–15 m³.
• Capacity is often limited due to narrow urban roads.
• Comparison with Dump Trucks
• Volume capacity is similar to non-compactor (dump) trucks.
• However, performance differs in terms of load weight.
• Hydraulic Compaction
• Waste is hydraulically compacted inside the vehicle.
• This reduces the volume of waste during collection.
• Increased Load per Trip
• Can carry 2 to 2.5 times more waste (by weight) per trip compared to non-compactor
trucks.
• Operational Advantage
• Reduces the number of trips required.
• Improves collection efficiency in high-density urban areas.
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[Link]
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Collection route
The route planned by collection crew to collect waste in a specific area is
called as collection routing. A proper planning of the collection routes
will decrease the overall cost in addition to labour cost, conserve energy
by minimizing vehicle fuel consumption and reduce the working hours.
The size of each route is decided based on
• the amount of waste collected per stop,
• distance between stops,
• loading time
• traffic conditions.
• Barriers, such as railroad, embankments, rivers and roads with heavy
traffic, can be considered to divide route territories.
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Guidelines for laying out collection route
• Details of the amount of waste generation, collection points,
frequency of collection, crew size and vehicle type must be
identified and coordinated.
• Routes should be laid out in such a way that they begin an end
near arterial streets. The physical barriers such as railway tracks,
bridges, river and embankments should be taken as route
boundaries.
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• The routes should neither be fragmented nor overlapping. They
should be compact and show clustered street segment of a
particular area.
• In hilly terrain, the routing should begin at the top and proceed
downhill. This is due to the fact that the vehicle becomes loaded
and is difficult to be taken uphill when the reverse pattern is
followed. It also conserves fuel.
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• The pattern of routing should be such that the last point of waste
generation should be located near the disposal site.
• Areas suffering from heavy traffic congestion should be visited
during the early hours of the day to avoid rush. Likewise, areas
generating large quantity of waste should be visited during the first
part of the day.
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• One-way streets should begin at the upper end of the street and
end in down street through the looping process. Dead end streets
can be serviced at T- junctions i.e. intersecting segments.
• Collections involving both sites of the streets require long straight
path before anticlockwise turning.
• One sided collection can be routed with many anticlockwise turns
around the blocks.
• Scattered pick up points with small quantity of waste generation
should be attended in one trip on the same day.
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Steps involved in establishing collection routes include
• Preparation of maps showing the point of waste generation
• Preparation of information summary table
• Preliminary route lay out
• Development of balance routes after trials
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Types of collection vehicle routing
Three types of collection routing
• Macro routing: It’s the process by which total area is divided into
routes in a way that represents single day collection of each
group. The amount of waste collected per point distance between
point loading and unloading time and traffic conditions determine
the size of the route. Barriers like rivers, roads, railway tracks and
traffic signals to divide into territories. Since macro routing
balances the size and shape of route area within the limits
imposed by the barrier. They are also referred as route balancing.
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• 2. Micro routing: The specific path covered by each crew and
collection vehicle per day is defined as micro routing. Micro
routing is laid out based on the results of micro routing.
• 3. Districting: When area is large enough, it is impossible for one
institution to collect per day the waste generation. To facilitate
efficient waste collection, the area is divided into smaller sections
(Example of districting, routing of metropolitan cities).
• [Link]
• Waste collection – Collection routing and crew – Solid and
Hazardous Waste Management
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A transfer station is an intermediate station between the final
disposal and the collection point in order to increase the
efficiency of the system as collection vehicles and crew
remain closer to route
The construction of transfer station requires more attention.
The following should be consider while selecting the location
for a transfer station
• It should not be in highly traffic area
Transfer • The route provided for load and unload the waste should be
clear.
station • It should not be near populated or residential area.
• Other factors that affect the selection of transfer station
• Type of waste received
• Processed used for recovery of materials
• The amount of waste to be stored
• Type of collection vehicle and transfer vehicle used
• Site topography and access
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The types of the transfer station The components and requirement
can be classified based on the size for a transfer station
• Small (capacity less that 100 tonnes/day) • Arrivals and scales
• Medium ( capacity between 100 to 500 • Tipping, processing and reloading
tonnes/day) • Facility
• Large (capacity more than 500 tonnes/day) • Basic equipment
• Staffing
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How Do Waste Transfer Stations Work?
From offload to transporting to be recycled, waste is recorded throughout its time at
the Waste Transfer Station. Here is the general sequence of events at Waste Transfer
Stations:
• Waste Arrives – Upon arrival, waste loads are weighed on the weighbridge to assess
amount and allow for continued tracking. At ETM, tailored reports can be made to
track the amount of load recycled and its details.
• Waste Tipped – Waste loads are then tipped and the vehicle or used skip is able to
be reassigned and quickly on its way.
• Waste Sorted – Waste is segregated at a Waste Transfer Station according to its
material type, recyclability, size, and level of hazard it presents. There are various
processes and specific machinery to handle various types of waste such as the
waste screen and fines screen, used to sort small soils and aggregates. Manual
sorting by staff is also undertaken, usually to separate specific recyclable materials.
• Waste Moved On – Once sorted and separated, waste can be moved on from the
Waste Transfer Station to its next destination. In the hopes of helping the
environment, recycling is heavily prioritized and landfill is the last resort.
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Benefits of Waste Transfer Stations (WTS)
1. Reduction in Transportation Time
• Waste vehicles can unload at nearby transfer stations instead of traveling
long distances to final disposal sites.
2. Lower Transportation Costs
• Reduced fuel consumption and vehicle operating expenses.
• More trips can be completed in less time, improving fleet efficiency.
3. Improved Operational Efficiency
• Faster turnaround time for collection vehicles.
• Increased productivity of waste management services.
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4. Environmental Benefits
•Reduced long-distance road transport lowers carbon emissions.
•Decreased reliance on rail or air freight for waste movement.
•Reduced traffic congestion and fuel usage.
5. Enhanced Recycling Opportunities
•Acts as an intermediate facility for sorting and screening waste.
•Increases recovery of recyclable materials before landfill disposal.
6. Better Hazardous Waste Management
•Proper identification and removal of hazardous materials.
•Prevents contamination of recyclable and landfill waste.
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7. Improved Worker Safety
•Organized sorting processes reduce risks to workers.
•Controlled handling of waste materials enhances safety standards.
8. Public Accessibility
•Some stations allow citizens to drop off recyclable or bulky waste.
•Supports proper waste segregation at the community level.
9. Support to Local Waste Collection Systems
•Reduces burden on municipal collection services.
•Improves overall efficiency of municipal solid waste management
(MSWM).
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Case Study
• [Link]
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