Compilation of a model for hazardous waste disposal site selection using GIS-based multi-purpose decision-making models

Hazardous Waste Advanced Management in a Selected Region of Poland

This article presents a study on hazardous waste management in the Malopolskie region of Poland. The study was based on the information obtained during three years from 2016 to 2018, and following analysis, it was found that in 2016 there was the highest amount of 24,872.13 tons of hazardous waste produced, of which only a three-fold lower amount was disposed of. In this study, various types of hazardous waste were analyzed, including the waste from construction materials and asbestos. The predominant share of 50% of the mass of analyzed hazardous waste was felt on the generated one. Waste recovered in installations had a lower share of 43%, with a significant and favorable increase of over 5000.00 tons. In the context of the correctness of environmental aspects, it was considered an advisable solution that would optimize treatment conditions, and at the same time minimize the costs of hazardous waste management.

MCA and geospatial analysis-based suitable dumping site selection for urban environmental protection: A case study of Shambu, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

A lack of suitable dumping sites in a town or city can have an impact on the health of the residents as well as the quality of the urban environment. There are no identified dumping sites in this study area that meet scientific or urban standards. Residents are dumping solid waste into ditches, roads, public water sources, and small streams. The solid and liquid wastes generated by residential areas, state prisons, religious areas, public markets, and business centers have a negative impact on the town. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the novelty of using Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA)-based geospatial analysis to select suitable dumping sites in Shambu town. Key factors for dumping site selection, such as LULC, road networks, private well locations, slope, geomorphology, geology, soil texture, drainage density, and lineament density, were confirmed as geospatial analysis criteria. In the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the importance of the key factors was weighted and prioritized, and thematic maps were created using weighted overlay analysis. The suitable dumping sites were identified using qualitative classifications such as ^“highly suitable^” (13.84%), ^“moderately suitable^” (7.35%), ^“less suitable^” (30.41%), and ^“not suitable^” (48.40%). The consistency of AHP was determined to be CI = 0.012, indicating that the weights assigned to each factor were correct. As a result, the use of geospatial and MCA analysis for dumping site suitability analysis was successful, and the findings of this study will be useful in taking action to reduce the impacts of solid waste by developing dumping plants on the identified sites.

AHP and TOPSIS based flood risk assessment- a case study of the Navsari City, Gujarat, India

Flooding is one of the major natural catastrophic disasters that causes massive environmental and socioeconomic destruction. The magnitude of losses due to floods has prompted researchers to focus more on robust and comprehensive modeling approaches for alleviating flood damages. Recently developed multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods are being widely used to construct decision-making process more participatory, rational, and efficient. In this study, two statistical MCDM approaches, namely the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), have been employed to generate flood risk maps together with hazard and vulnerability maps in a GIS framework for Navsari city in Gujarat, India, to identify the vulnerable areas that are more susceptible to inundation during floods. The study area was divided into 10 sub areas (i.e., NC1 to NC10) to appraise the degree of flood hazard, vulnerability and risk intensities in terms of areal coverage and categorized under 5 intensity classes, viz., very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. A total of 14 flood indicators, seven each for hazard (i.e., elevation, slope, drainage density, distance to river, rainfall, soil, and flow accumulation) and vulnerability (i.e., population density, female population, land use, road network density, household, distance to hospital, and literacy rate) were considered for evaluating the flood risk. Flood risk coverage evaluated from the two approaches were compared with the flood extent computed from the actual flood data collected at 36 random locations. Results revealed that the TOPSIS approach estimated more precise flood risk coverage than the AHP approach, yielding high R² values, i.e., 0.78 to 0.95 and low RMSE values, i.e., 0.95 to 0.43, for all the 5 risk intensity classes. The sub areas identified under "very high" and "high" risk intensity classes (i.e., NC1, NC4, NC6, NC7, NC8, and NC10) call for immediate flood control measures with a view to palliate the extent of flood risk and consequential damages. The study demonstrates the potential of AHP and TOPSIS integrated with GIS towards precise identification of flood-prone areas for devising effective flood management strategies.

A GIS-based novel approach for suitable sanitary landfill site selection using integrated fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and machine learning algorithms

Disposal of waste without treatment is the least preferable way of sustainable solid waste management (SWM). But most cities in developing nations still use open dumps, causing negative impacts on the environment and human health. This study offered a novel approach for selecting landfill sites and sustainable SWM in Aligarh city, India. This was done through data collection, selecting models for criterion weighting, and validation. In order to prepare a landfill site suitability map, a geographic information system (GIS)-based ensemble fuzzy analytic hierarchy process-support vector machine (FAHP-SVM) and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process-random forest (FAHP-RF) models were implemented. Considering the previous studies and the study area characteristics, eighteen thematic layers were selected. The result revealed that land value; distance from residential roads, hospitals and clinics, and waste bins; and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) have a fuzzy weight greater than 0.10, indicating significant factors. In contrast, land elevation, land slope, surface temperature, soil moisture index, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and urban classification have a zero fuzzy weight, indicating these criteria have no importance. The result further revealed that FAHP-RF with an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.91 is the more accurate model than FAHP-SVM. According to the final weight-based overlay result, seven potential landfill sites were identified, out of which three were determined as most suitable by considering current land cover, public opinions, and environmental and economic concerns. This research proposed a zonal division model based on landfill sites location for sustainable SWM in Aligarh city. However, the findings may provide a guideline to the decision-makers and planners for optimal landfill site selection in other cities of developing countries.

Comprehensive solid waste dumpsite selection in arid cities of Northeastern Ethiopia: A spatial-MCDA approach

In the coming three decades, world waste will be expected to increase by 70%. Coupled with the absence of waste management technologies, unregulated dumping remained a threat to sustainable development in developing countries. To this end, this study emphasized to trace socially acceptable and environmentally friendly solid waste dumpsite for the northeastern arid cities of Ethiopia. The tuneful integration of GIS and MCDA was used for the end-to-end processing of 17 variables. At the earlier, to increase alternative dumpsites and seeking for safe zone outside the cities, 20 km buffer at Semera-logia city was used as a spatial scope of the study. Fifteen key informants (KIs) from related departments of the city and Samara University were selected to validate the model result. In the end, Ordinal Regression (OR) analysis was used to test the significance of the criteria's on suitable dumpsite selection. The pair-wise comparison matrix shows that variables such as distance from surface water (11.32%), distance from the settlement (9.88%), distance from boreholes (8.87%), and aquifer productivity (8.51%) were the top weighed criteria for the study area. The weighted overlay result shows that 10.75% and 38.64% of the study area are found to be convenient and prohibited for dumping, respectively. Indeed, the KIs were agreed on 77% of the validation points and the agreement decreases from points of not-suitable to highly suitable. Except for aquifer productivity, all the 16 variables are significantly and negatively affect dumpsites suitability. This result can be further used as a preliminary database for experts to design landfill structures and also management operations for decision-makers.Implications: The identification of potential dumpsite is an important step towards maximizing efficiency and building sustainability in the arid areas. The decision-making process shall be based on the empirical investigation. The decision-making process on dumpsite selection were well thought out both the socio-economic and environmental factors. In owing process, the empirical investigation that was conducted focusing on socio-economic dimension jeopardized other components of the environments. The approach that considers both socio-economic and spatial factors was all-inclusive. Overall, decision-makers could have a good insight to work on prioritizing dumpsite alternatives and implement feasible waste management actions.

A multi-criteria decision support framework for municipal solid waste landfill siting: a case study of New South Wales (Australia)

Sanitary waste disposal and site selection for establishing landfills are challenging problems for environmental planners. This paper aims to take environmental, socio-economic, geological, geomorphological, hydrological and ecological factors into consideration to provide a decision support framework for landfill siting. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) are coupled to develop an efficient multi-criteria decision-making method to be utilized in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment for evaluating the suitability for landfill siting. As the first attempt to employ DEMATEL effectively in a landfill site selection problem, the proposed method is tested with landfill siting scenarios in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Regional analysis is also performed to identify the potentially most suitable statistical divisions for landfill siting in NSW. The top two ranked zones covering 0.7% and 22% of the study area, respectively, are considered as the optimal areas for establishing landfills, while the bottom two ranked zones are not recommended for further consideration. Further detailed analysis is also conducted on the existing landfills, which shows that 1.0% and 37.0% of them are ranks 1 and 2, respectively. The scenario-based analysis implies that, among the contributing factors; geological and economic factors are highly important.

Site selection by using the multi-criteria technique-a case study of Bafra, Turkey

Population growth, which is the main source of the biggest problems of the world today, combined with migration from rural areas to urban centers, causes the urban centers to be even more concentrated. This necessitates the opening of new residential areas in many city centers, but new residential areas are mostly determined by the decisions of local authorities, who may not base their decisions on scientific data. With the wrong area selection, ordinary natural events can be potentially catastrophic. Such events can result in large numbers of casualties and material damage every year. In this study, an example of applying a method for location selection using various parameters has been realized. The study focuses on Bafra, Turkey (the study area). Risk maps were created in terms of floods and overflows; maps of regions and high-voltage power transmission lines that enjoy a protected area status; and maps of regions in terms of biocomfort suitability. As a result of the evaluation made according to these criteria, it is calculated that only 1.96% of the total working area is suitable for use as a residential area. In relevant literature studies, it was observed that the studies related to the selection of residential areas were carried out only depending on a single standard or criterion. Some suggested biocomfort, and others used vulnerability to risks such as landslide, flood, and earthquakes as their main principle. Studies based on multi-criteria were generally used for purposes such as solid waste site selection and determination of the road routes. The study aims to shed light on the multi-criteria method in an attempt to standardize it in regional planning studies and to inspire similar studies in which different criteria can be used to achieve the maximum efficiency.

Hazardous Waste Management: An African Overview

Hazardous waste materials and their management are of prime importance to society. This article gives an overview of the current practices that relate to hazardous waste management. It looks at issues concerning the transboundary or international movement of harmful materials from industrialized nations to the developing and emerging world. This study has shown that Africa, most notably Nigeria, has become a dumping ground for hazardous waste materials as a result of the high importation of scrap computers and electronic devices into the country. The public health hazards, such as birth deficiencies, cancers, and even infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B and C, respectively, have been traced to the improper management of these waste materials. The review highlights a few models on hazardous waste management as developed by previous literature, which gives a hierarchy, ranging from source reduction, recycling, and landfill options. Studies reveal that hazardous waste management in Africa must revolve around wealth creation, economic, and environmental sustainability. The study provided evidence that the recycling option has high potentials in the areas of energy recovery. The data collected show South Africa to be the most advanced in the African continent in the field of hazardous waste management. For a sustainable environment, keen attention must be paid to hazardous waste management globally.