Abstract— This paper focuses on evaluation of the Geographic
Information Systems utilization for solving residential recyclables
collection routing problems. Recyclables collection is considered
as a part of reverse logistics to which a specific routing problem
is connected. Recycling itself is one of the sustainable solutions
intended for Smart Cities. Recycling rate increase in recent years
and always high transportation costs are the main drivers for
looking for the new methods how to optimize routing in
residential recyclables collection. Geospatial relation of data by
Geographic Information Systems software can be used to design
and analyze the routing strategy. In this paper ArcGIS software
and its Network Analyst extension is used to analyze potential
routing improvement during one recyclables collection shift in El
Paso, Texas, USA. Equation describing the time requirements for
the process of recyclables collection with the consideration of
effects of set-out rate and turns was established. Despite that the
Network Analyst was not designed to solve high density routing
tasks of this kind, an approach to obtain acceptable routing
solution by this ArcGIS extension was developed. By applying
this approach on the selected recyclables collection shift it was
found that a comparable routing solution can be obtained.
Index Terms— ArcGIS Network Analyst, arc routing problem,
GIS, MSW, recycling, residential recyclables collection, vehicle
routing