Optimizing the Life Cycle of Last-Mile Packaging

More than 85 million tons of cardboard waste are created annually, with most ending up in landfills. This capstone project aims to develop a mathematical optimization model to help last-mile delivery companies reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint by collecting and reusing cardboard cartons. Specifically, the optimization model suggests from which customers cardboard boxes should be collected during a delivery route, considering practical constraints such as limited vehicles' capacity and maximum driving time. Our results indicate that collecting all potential cardboard boxes is not imperative to achieve the highest possible reduction in CO2 emissions.