Multi-period two-echelon location routing problem for disaster waste clean-up

Waste clean-up after a disaster is one of the most critical tasks in the response stage of disaster management. We develop a model to minimise the cost and duration of disaster waste clean-up considering using Temporary Disaster Waste Management Sites (TDWMSs), which can store and process waste before it is sent to the final disposal sites. The problem that arises can be seen as a Multi-Period Two-echelon Location Routing Problem (MP-2ELRP) in which the main decisions are the location of the TDWMSs and the routing of vehicles in both echelons. In this paper, we propose both a mixed-integer program and a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to model and solve the problem. Computational tests indicate: (i) the performance of proposed GA is robust; (ii) the use of TDWMSs can reduce both total waste clean-up cost and duration; and (iii) the capacities of TDWMSs have a significant impact on the total waste clean-up time and duration.