An evaluation of a GIS-aided garbage collection service for the eastern district of Tainan City

To provide citizens with a healthy living environment is a solemn duty of governments in the modern societies. The GIS technology opens new dimensionalities and possibilities to health-related research with its capabilities to record, manage and analyze spatio-temporal phenomena. Garbage collection is a common challenge to modern cities and efficiency is an important indicator of the dedication of the governments in this regard. With the so-called “no garbage on the ground” policy, garbage in the Tainan city has been collected by garbage trucks following fixed routes and schedules. It is therefore important for information about garbage collection to be widely distributed to the public and the designated routes and schedules to match the needs and living patterns of the residents. A web-based query system has been developed to allow for the search of accessible garbage collection points with given spatial and temporal constraints. The routes and schedules of garbage collection trucks were further analyzed using the four indicators we proposed and together with a street address database, to evaluate the efficiency of the garbage collection service. The results could serve as a basis to refine or adjust truck routes and schedules. In comparison with the traditional handbill approach and the adoption of a homepage of static contents, the GIS-aided approach clearly provides more thorough and powerful spatial analysis capabilities to addressing the garbage collection issue.