Waste & recycling / Routes
Plan a collection round
Estimate the time needed for stops, travel and crew work.
Work plan
Round duration
Enter stops.
How it works
Put in your numbers
Use your own rates, times and measurements.
See your answer straight away
It works it out as you type.
Copy or print it
Send it on, or keep it with the job.
What it covers: Estimate stop, travel and crew time for a round.
Free to use. No sign-in needed.
How to plan a waste collection round
A collection round is more than the stops. Service time, travel between stops and the run to and from the depot all add up, and the crew is paid for all of it. This planner adds those parts together so you can see the round length, crew hours and how it compares with the shift.
- Count the collection stops on the round. Use the number of places the vehicle actually stops, not the number of bins, if several are serviced at one stop.
- Enter the average minutes at each stop. Time a few typical stops on a real round, from getting out to getting back on, and use the average.
- Add the average travel between neighbouring stops in minutes. If you do not know it yet, start without it and add it once you have timed a round.
- Enter the depot travel total, with both directions combined. Include any run to a disposal site if it is part of the round.
- Open Crew hours to set the operators on the round, and add the shift length in hours if you want a check. The planner shows the round duration, service at stops, between-stop travel, depot travel, crew time and how the round sits against the shift.
- Add a cost per operator per hour if you want the crew cost. Use your full hourly cost per person for a true picture.
Tips and common mistakes
- Do not use your quickest stop as the average. Overfilled, blocked or hard to reach bins slow things down, so base the figure on a normal day.
- The planner does not shorten stop time when you add operators. If an extra person really speeds up each stop, lower the minutes at each stop to match.
- Leave a margin against the shift. Traffic, weather and extra trips to empty the vehicle vary, so a round that only just fits on paper will often run over.
- The planner has no breaks field, so allow for breaks inside the shift length you enter. Check the rules where you work on driving time, breaks and vehicle use.
Questions
How long does a bin collection round take?
Multiply the stops by the minutes at each stop. Add travel between stops, which the planner works out as the average between neighbouring stops times one less than the number of stops. Then add the depot run in both directions. As an illustration, 80 stops at 2 minutes each, plus 60 minutes of travel between stops and 40 minutes of depot travel, comes to 4 hours 20 minutes. Your own times will differ, so time a real round.
How do I work out crew hours for a collection round?
Take the full round time, including depot travel, and multiply it by the number of operators. A 5 hour round with 2 operators is 10 crew hours. Multiply crew hours by your cost per operator per hour to get the crew cost.
How many stops can a collection round fit in one shift?
Start with the shift length, take off depot travel and breaks, then divide what is left by the time per stop plus travel to the next stop. Try different stop counts in the planner until the round fits with some time to spare.
Should depot travel include trips to the disposal site?
Include any driving the round needs that is not between stops, such as leaving and returning to the depot or running to a disposal site. If the vehicle has to empty part way through, add that trip too. Enter the total for both directions combined.
Why does my collection round take longer than planned?
Common causes are a stop time based on easy stops, travel left out, and extra trips to empty the vehicle. Time a few real rounds, update the averages in the planner and compare again.
Add this calculator to your website
Free for any website, blog or trade association page. Paste this code where you want the calculator to appear.