Multi-criteria GIS-based siting of an incineration plant for municipal solid waste

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) Vol. 31; no. 9; pp. 1960 - 1972
• Main Authors: Tavares, Gilberto, Zsigraiová, Zdena, Semiao, Viriato
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: AHP; Applied sciences; Combustion; Criteria; Decision making; Decision Support Techniques; Environment; Environmental assessment; Environmental impact; Exact sciences and technology; Geographic Information Systems; Geography; Incineration; Methodology; MSW incinerator; Multi-criteria evaluation; Other wastes and particular components of wastes; Pollutant dispersion; Pollution; Satellite navigation systems; Siting; Solid wastes; Urban and domestic wastes; Visibility; Wastes; Philippines, Luzon I., Pangasinan, Bolinao, Santiago I; Siting; Pollutant dispersion; AHP; Visibility; MSW incinerator; Multi-criteria evaluation; Environmental impact; Rank statistic; Incineration plant; Sensitivity analysis; Decision making; Geographic information system; Environment impact; Urban waste; Solid waste; Planetary scale; Regulation; Reliability; Public health
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2011.04.013

► We present a spatial multi-criteria methodology to decide waste plants siting. ► Methodology combines AHP to estimate criteria weights with GIS for spatial analysis. ► Incorporating environmental impact assessment in the decision process is a novelty. ► Another novelty is the use of a two-scale approach: global and local. ► The results proved the system effectiveness in the ranking process. Siting a municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration plant requires a comprehensive evaluation to identify the best available location(s) that can simultaneously meet the requirements of regulations and minimise economic, environmental, health, and social costs. A spatial multi-criteria evaluation methodology is presented to assess land suitability for a plant siting and applied to Santiago Island of Cape Verde. It combines the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to estimate the selected evaluation criteria weights with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for spatial data analysis that avoids the subjectivity of the judgements of decision makers in establishing the influences between some criteria or clusters of criteria. An innovative feature of the method lies in incorporating the environmental impact assessment of the plant operation as a criterion in the decision-making process itself rather than as an a posteriori assessment. Moreover, a two-scale approach is considered. At a global scale an initial screening identifies inter-municipal zones satisfying the decisive requirements (socio-economic, technical and environmental issues, with weights respectively, of 48%, 41% and 11%). A detailed suitability ranking inside the previously identified zones is then performed at a local scale in two phases and includes environmental assessment of the plant operation. Those zones are ranked by combining the non-environmental feasibility of Phase 1 (with a weight of 75%) with the environmental assessment of the plant operation impact of Phase 2 (with a weight of 25%). The reliability and robustness of the presented methodology as a decision supporting tool is assessed through a sensitivity analysis. The results proved the system effectiveness in the ranking process.