Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection

Governmental decision-making in metropolitan areas is becoming increasingly concerned with finding comprehensive solutions to area-wide problems. Development of an adequate urban solid waste management system for residential solid waste collection is such a problem. Although solid waste services offered by various civil subdivisions in a metropolitan area may be widely divergent, the factors influencing this service are similar. For example, within a given metropolitan area one town may offer twice-a-week, rear-of-the house collection service, while another town may offer once-a-week curb service. To analyze these two different systems on a metropolitan-wide basis, it is necessary to develop appropriate analytical tools. One possibility for analyzing these factors is to apply regression analysis to economic and operational data related to solid waste collection in a given metropolitan area. This technique is applied to such an area, and the relevant factors influencing solid waste collection are determined.