GIS and Multicriteria Decision Analysis for Landfill Site Selection in Edirne Province, Turkey

Abstract

A sustainable solid waste management system planning is a complex and interdisciplinary subject, which requires considering technical, environmental, economic, and social factors. Landfills play an essential role in solid waste management strategies, and landfilling is an extensively accepted preference for the clearance of solid waste worldwide. Site selection of landfill facilities can be a considerable problem as all infrastructural projects can deteriorate the ecology of the site on which they are developed because of changing land uses, loss of habitats, and displacement of fauna. These effects are mainly specific for location and need to be evaluated on every example. Landfill site selection is related to certain factors and limitations defined by natural and artificial thresholds and/or legislation. Legal provisions may vary according to the country's policy and even to the provincial policies. In addition to these features of study zones or sites, landfill site selection methods may have different criteria and sub-criteria in identifying parameters. This paper aims to identify landfill site(s) multicriteria decision analysis depending on Edirne's environmentally sensitive areas by using the Geographic Information System (GIS) technique. Data of land use, geologic features, protected areas, natural and archeological sites, transportation network, hydrological data, soil suitability for agricultural activities, and land capability classes which have been acquired from the relevant public authorities were used to proposed model. Regional factors were identified and assessed according to the risk of contamination for environmental components such as natural resources, sensitive ecosystems, and unique habitats. The chosen criteria were graded in this context, and alternative landfill sites were proposed by applying GIS-based analysis. According to the analysis, the northern subprovince of the study area, Lalapasa, has the most appropriate landfill sites.