Development of a Smart Waste Management System for Route Optimization and Adaptive Demand Management in Dubai

Abstract. Effective waste management is one of the major elements of urban sustainability, more so in rapidly growing cities like Dubai. This paper presents an overview of the development of a Smart Waste Management System (SWMS) that integrates Geographic Information System (GIS) technology with waste route optimization algorithms and adaptive demand management strategies. The system has four major components: (1) a mobile field application to add and modify collection points in real time; (2) a route optimization module that minimizes travel distance and CO₂ emissions while accounting for real-world constraints; (3) an interactive dashboard for decision-makers to monitor analytics, visualize routes, and make real-time adjustments; and (4) a navigator app for truck drivers to follow optimized routes seamlessly. Furthermore, the system includes a new adaptive waste demand management module, which dynamically updates the demand for each collection point using real-time usage data, rather than being based on static assumptions of capacity. The effectiveness of the system was tested on a sample of 110 collection bins located in three different areas in Dubai. Preliminary results indicate that route optimization alone has achieved a reduction of 19.1% in CO₂ emissions, and further improvement is expected with full implementation of the adaptive demand management module. The findings highlight the potential of intelligent systems to significantly reduce the environmental and financial costs associated with municipal waste collection, paving the way for scalable deployment in other urban environments.