E-Waste Pickup Scheduling Web App with Collector Routing

E-Waste Pickup Scheduling Web App with Collector Routing is a two-sided web platform that fixes how household e-waste gets collected: residents book doorstep pickups from a transparent per-material rate card with a live payout estimate, while a dispatcher view auto-sequences the day's requests into a collector route with time windows. E-waste collection today is informal and opaque — itinerant buyers quote arbitrary prices and give no proof of where the waste goes, while scheduled services that do exist take bookings but leave routing, verification and compliance to paper. Without stop sequencing, a collector criss-crosses the city, misses slot windows and completes fewer pickups per shift. This project addresses the full chain: visible rate cards that settle trust on price, nearest-neighbor route sequencing with a 2-opt pass so each tour is explainable and fast to compute, OTP-verified handovers with doorstep weight capture for honest payouts, and digital disposal certificates plus recycler handoff records that prove the waste reached a licensed recycler.

From booking to certificate, the flow is one chain: the customer picks item categories — phones, laptops, batteries, appliances, or per-kg materials — and the React frontend multiplies estimated weights by the day's sample ₹/kg rates to show a live payout estimate before the request is confirmed. The Express backend stores the request with a geocoded PostGIS point, zone and one of three daily slot windows, and the dispatcher view loads the day's manifest and runs the sequencing engine in the browser: nearest-neighbor from the depot, then a 2-opt pass, then the numbered tour with time windows on the map. The collector works the stops in order; each stop closes only after the four checklist items, the captured weight and the customer's 6-digit OTP are all confirmed. Closed stops accumulate into a digital disposal certificate with a verification code, and the recycler handoff is recorded — audited by the admin and exported as a monthly EPR report.

1. The customer selects item categories and quantities; the frontend computes the live payout estimate from the rate card and the customer picks one of three daily slot windows.
2. The Express API stores the request with a geocoded PostGIS point, zone and slot, and sends an SMS booking confirmation to the customer.
3. The dispatcher loads the day's manifest and runs the sequencing engine — nearest-neighbor construction from the depot plus a 2-opt pass — then assigns the numbered tour to a collector with a vehicle ID.
4. The collector works the stops in visit order on the map; at each doorstep the four checklist items are completed, the items are weighed, and the customer reads out the 6-digit OTP.
5. On OTP match the stop closes; completed stops accumulate into a digital disposal certificate with a verification code, and the recycler handoff is recorded against a licensed recycler.
6. The admin dashboard audits the full pickup-to-collector-to-recycler chain and exports the monthly EPR report as CSV.

Tech stack:

• React with Vite (customer portal, dispatcher and admin views)
• Node.js with Express (REST API)
• PostgreSQL with PostGIS (pickup points, zones, route data)
• JWT authentication (customer, dispatcher, collector and admin roles)
• Leaflet with OpenStreetMap (production maps)
• Twilio / MSG91 (SMS OTP notifications)
• Docker (deployment)
• Git (version control)

The platform's centerpiece is the dispatcher route engine: the day's pickup requests are sequenced into visit order by nearest-neighbor construction from the depot, refined by a 2-opt pass that removes crossed legs, and rendered on an interactive map with numbered stops, time windows and a per-stop panel — the tour rebuilds in under 2 ms in the browser (measured on the demo's 12-stop set). Around it sit the capabilities that make the system trustworthy: a live rate-card booking flow where per-material sample ₹/kg rates and per-item estimated weights produce an instant payout estimate; an OTP-verified handover where a 6-digit code sent by SMS must be confirmed before a stop can close; and doorstep weight capture that feeds a digital disposal certificate with a verification code plus a recycler handoff record. Together they cover the full pickup-to-collector-to-recycler chain.

• [Live rate-card booking] Fourteen item categories — phones, laptops, batteries, appliances and per-kg materials — each with an estimated unit weight and a sample ₹/kg rate; the payout estimate recomputes live as quantities change, and the confirmed request stores zone, address and slot.
• [Nearest-neighbor route sequencing] The dispatcher engine builds the day's tour from the depot with nearest-neighbor construction, then runs a 2-opt improvement pass that removes crossed legs; sequencing completes in under 2 ms in the demo's browser run and the stop order stays explainable.
• [Interactive dispatcher map] The sequenced tour renders on a map with a depot marker, numbered stop pins in visit order, the route polyline, area labels and a stop panel grouped by morning, afternoon and evening time windows.
• [Collector checklist workflow] Each stop walks the collector through four checks — items match the booking, weigh in front of the customer, OTP verified, handover photo noted — and a stop cannot close until all four pass.
• [OTP-verified handover] A 6-digit OTP (design) is sent to the customer's phone by SMS (Twilio/MSG91 in production); the customer reads it out at the door and the stop closes only on a match, so neither side can dispute the handover.
• [Digital disposal certificate] Completed stops accumulate into a certificate carrying a unique ID and verification code, total kilograms collected and the date — proof of responsible disposal the customer can keep or forward.
• [Recycler network & compliance trail] The admin console manages licensed recyclers with license numbers and status, records every recycler handoff, and tracks OTP-verified handovers, doorstep weights and certificates issued, exportable as a monthly EPR report.

• Complete source code: React frontend, Express backend, PostgreSQL/PostGIS schema and seed data
• Working single-file demo build of the booking, routing, collector and admin views
• Setup and hosting guide (local run and Docker deployment notes)
• Project report PDF (background, rate-card model, routing heuristic, methodology, demo results)
• Abstract PDF (10-section)
• PPT presentation for final review
• Viva Q&A preparation document (routing heuristics, JWT roles, PostGIS, OTP flow, EPR compliance)