Evaluating Boolean, AHP and WLC methods for the selection of waste landfill sites using GIS and satellite images

Abstract

The city of Saqqez has a population of 140,000 people, making it one of the largest cities in Iran. Population growth, consumerism, and change in eating habits, such as the increased use of packaged products, is causing the accumulation of waste in this city to increase. In this study, the selection of a waste landfill site for Saqqez focused on 13 layers of geography information that was used by the IDRISI and Arc GIS software. Different models of the analytic multi-criteria decision-making process, such as an analytical hierarchy process (AHP), weighted linear combination (WLC), and Boolean logic, were used to manage layers to establish specific databases for urban waste landfills. Satellite images (Landsat ETM+ and SPOT 5), proposed sites and a land use map of the study area were also used. The results of this study indicated that two methods (AHP and WLC) in the early stages had better decision-making powers for locating landfill sites when compared to Boolean logic. Overlapping and compounding the similarities between these models in Arc GIS software, a 74-ha site was found. This site will be able to accept 130 tons of waste per day for the next 20 years.