Intelligent and sustainable waste classification model based on multi-objective beluga whale optimization and deep learning

Abstract Resource recycling is considered necessary for sustainable development, especially in smart cities where increased urbanization and the variety of waste generated require the development of automated waste management models. The development of smart technology offers a possible alternative to traditional waste management techniques that are proving insufficient to reduce the harmful effects of trash on the environment. This paper proposes an intelligent waste classification model to enhance the classification of waste materials, focusing on the critical aspect of waste classification. The proposed model leverages the InceptionV3 deep learning architecture, augmented by multi-objective beluga whale optimization (MBWO) for hyperparameter optimization. In MBWO, sensitivity and specificity evaluation criteria are integrated linearly as the objective function to find the optimal values of the dropout period, learning rate, and batch size. A benchmark dataset, namely TrashNet is adopted to verify the proposed model’s performance. By strategically integrating MBWO, the model achieves a considerable increase in accuracy and efficiency in identifying waste materials, contributing to more effective waste management strategies while encouraging sustainable waste management practices. The proposed intelligent waste classification model outperformed the state-of-the-art models with an accuracy of 97.75%, specificity of 99.55%, F1-score of 97.58%, and sensitivity of 98.88%.