GIS and Multicriteria Decision Analysis for Landfill Site Selection in Al-Hashimyah Qadaa

Abstract

Waste management system is not well regulated in Iraq. Despite the fact that there are various techniques used for solid waste disposal, landfill is the most common mode for the disposal of solid waste in Iraq, landfill site selection criteria is quite complex process and it depends on several regulation and factors. In this study landfill site selection is performed by using Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and Geographic Information System (GIS) for the Al-Hashimyahqadaa. Existing landfills in qadaa are temporary and/or non-conforming to the environmental conditions. In order to determine landfill site, several criteria were examined such as urban centers, land use, airports, pipes, power lines, railways, roads, slope, streams, surface water, industrial areas, oil pipes, liquid gas pipes, soil types are prepared. MCDA was used to measure the relative importance weighting for each criterion. Each map layer was prepared using GIS and the final suitable map was created by overlay analyses of each criterion map. According to the results, high and low suitable areas were determined in the study area. Field site check was performed to determine the accuracy and suitability of the candidate sites.