Municipal solid waste landfill siting by using GIS and analytical hierarchy process (AHP): a case study in Qom city, Iran

• Published in: Environmental earth sciences Vol. 77; no. 2; pp. 1 - 12
• Main Authors: Khodaparast, Mahdi, Rajabi, Ali M., Edalat, Ali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algorithms; Analytic hierarchy process; Biogeosciences; Case studies; Decision analysis; Decision making; Design criteria; Design factors; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Economic models; Environmental effects; Environmental factors; Environmental Science and Engineering; Geochemistry; Geographic information systems; Geographical information systems; Geology; Geomorphology; Growth rate; Hydrography; Hydrology/Water Resources; Information processing; Information systems; Landfill; Landfills; Mathematical analysis; Multiple criterion; Municipal solid waste; Municipal waste management; Original Article; Petroleum; Population growth; Salt lakes; Satellite navigation systems; Site selection; Social factors; Solid waste disposal; Solid waste management; Terrestrial Pollution; Tourism; Tourist attractions; Waste disposal; Waste disposal sites; Waste management industry; Iran; GIS; AHP; Solid waste landfill; Qom
• ISSN: 1866-6280; 1866-6299
• DOI: 10.1007/s12665-017-7215-3

Qom is the eighth most populated city in center of Iran, and its population growth rate is among the highest in this country. Th presence of a Great Salt Lake, petroleum potential and tourism attractions in this city sheds light on the importance of how solid waste landfill locations should be disposed, located and managed as an environmental issue. Considering the key parameters in landfill site selection, in this study a series of location analysis have been conducted to locate optimum regions for municipal solid waste disposal, using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and geographical information system (GIS). The main factors in selecting the suitable location for waste disposal include geomorphology–hydrography, environmental–social factors and design criteria, each of which are subdivided into several categories. Criteria are selected according to the regional condition; therefore, important factors such as distance from sea and forested areas were not considered. In the next step, digital layers are weighted and classified according to the available standards and expert judgment. Then, analytical multi-criteria decision-making algorithms as AHP and weighted linear combination are applied upon existing layers in GIS. The results show that by implementing the AHP method in this region only 7% of the study area has a very good and appropriate condition for landfill location and the field observation confirms them. Finally, considering the environmental effects of landfill, appropriate locations are suggested.