These results are in agreement with those presented in the work of Apaydin and Gonullu (2008), where the authors applied the shortest distance criterion to optimize an actual MSW collection/hauling system in Trabzon City (Turkey) to minimize emissions. For their studied system, if the optimized routes were used instead of the ones being actually used, distance and time could be decreased on average by some 25% and 44%, respectively, accompanied by a considerable
decrease in pollutant emissions originated from vehicle exhaust. However, rather than considering variable vehicle velocity and load as in the present work, their calculations were based on fixed average values for the specific fuel consumption and emissions released as a function of the travelled distance.