On 4 November, we took part in the event “Alea Ambiente: an innovation pathway towards sustainability and digitalisation of services”, hosted at ALEA Ambiente’s stand during Ecomondo 2025, to illustrate how artificial intelligence can become a tangible driver of innovation in public services.

Our colleagues Lorenzo Ravaglia and Valentina Intrusi presented the project developed for ALEA Ambiente, focused on digitalising the design of door-to-door waste collection routes.

The presentation was part of Ecomondo’s programme, the leading European trade fair for the ecological transition and circular economy, and provided a concrete example of how data and decision science can enhance the quality, efficiency and sustainability of environmental services.

From data-driven design to full operational autonomy

In the project with ALEA, Optit worked on the digitalisation of door-to-door collection route design, customising its optimisation solution for waste collection services to meet ALEA’s specific needs.

The goal was clear: to move from manual planning to a fully data-driven process, combining artificial intelligence, mathematical optimisation and operational knowledge to make decisions faster and more accurately.

More specifically, our objectives were to ensure:

  • data-based design, adaptable to operational and territorial constraints;
  • simulation and comparison of different scenarios;
  • efficiency and sustainability at an operational level.

Thanks to Optit’s solution, ALEA can now process large volumes of data in just a few minutes, generate and compare multiple service scenarios, and integrate planning with daily service management — while maintaining full control of the entire process.

Project results: data, efficiency and autonomy for a more sustainable service

What results have we achieved?

  • The ability to process an immense amount of data in just a few minutes.
  • The optimisation of door-to-door collection services across 13 municipalities in the Forlì area, serving 100,000 users and involving 400,000 containers.
  • Full autonomy for ALEA Ambiente’s staff in every phase of the design process.

These results show how a data-driven approach, based on mathematical models and optimisation algorithms, can transform a public service into an intelligent system — one that adapts to local needs and evolves over time.

The collaboration with ALEA Ambiente stands as a concrete example of how decision science can actively support the ecological transition, promoting management models that are more sustainable and future-oriented.