Determination of Domestic Solid Waste Landfilling Areas Using GIS: Baku Example

Abstract

Disposal of municipal solid waste is one of the major global problems that is more prominent in developing countries. One of the basic methods of disposing of solid waste is determining the location, evaluation and planning of landfills. Determining the appropriate location of landfills is a difficult and complex process as social, environmental and technical factors must be considered. Rapid population growth, urbanization, industrialization, rural- urban migration in Baku has significantly increased the amount of solid waste and created a serious problem in solid waste management. Therefore, appropriate solid waste disposal sites are needed to protect the environment. This study used GIS and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDM) techniques to identify potential municipal waste landfills in Baku city. Twelve criteria were taken into account to determine the municipal solid waste landfill. The analytic hierarchy method (AHP) was used to assign weights to the decision criteria and the classes within each criterion, and the pairwise comparison method was applied to create the comparison matrix. The final field suitability map was prepared with the help of these weights and criteria. This site suitability map is presented at four suitability levels: optimal, moderately suitable, suitable, and unsuitable. The results showed that 340.79 km(2) of the study area was most suitable, 144.9 km(2) was suitable, 0.91 km(2) was medium suitable, and 1,117.2 km(2) was unsuitable for landfills. However, decisions regarding final land use planning in the study area need to be supported by spatial analyses in order to minimize environmental impacts.