Curbside collection of recyclable material can be expensive because the inherent costs of curbside collection are high, but also because amounts collected per residence are small compared to the total waste stream, and extra activity may be required, such as sorting. In this paper a simulation model is used to investigate the effect of collection method and route characteristics on route time. The simulation models presented calculate set-out amount based on route characteristics, set-out rate (SOR), and participation rate (PR). Route limes are estimated for various conditions: constant SOR, constant PR, and constant set-out amount. Furthermore, a method for using route time to estimate vehicle and labor needs is presented, and used to estimate economic costs for one and two-person crew collection methods for the three simulation conditions mentioned above. The two-person crew is found to cost less than the one-person crew, for most simulated conditions. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
