A Hierarchical Coordination Framework for Municipal Solid Waste Collection Management under Uncertainty

Municipal solid waste collection systems require coordinated decisions across strategic, tactical, and operational horizons, yet the optimization literature remains fragmented across planning levels and often treats uncertainty only within isolated model formulations. This paper proposes a hierarchical coordination framework for municipal solid waste collection management under uncertainty. The framework is defined as an interface-based, modular coordination artifact composed of reusable optimization modules, standardized input–output interfaces, and an uncertainty layer that enables alternative evaluation perspectives without requiring a monolithic reformulation of the underlying models. The proposed architecture links long-term fleet transition and modernization decisions with tactical fleet sizing, allocation, and utilization, as well as detailed operational routing and scheduling. Its main contribution is conceptual and design-oriented: it formalizes the roles of decision modules, the logic of top-down decision propagation and bottom-up performance feedback, and the architectural conditions under which validated optimization models can function as parts of a reusable multi-level decision-support structure. By positioning uncertainty as an external evaluation layer, the framework provides a basis for future comparative assessment under deterministic, stochastic, and distributionally robust perspectives. The paper thus contributes a structured coordination logic for integrating previously isolated optimization models in municipal solid waste collection management.