Landfill site selection with emphasis on environmentaland economical factors in northern Iran (Case study: Astara Township)

The crucial condition of northern cities in Iran, increases the necessity for a proper landfill site selection. Solid waste is an inseparable part of human life and in its production in different quantities and qualities is the biggest environmental problem at present. The first and the most important step towards waste management, is finding a suitable place for landfilling. Today, geographic information systems are widely used in environmental planning.
In this study, the geographical directions, surface water, faults, protected areas, soil, geology, distance from settlement and land use are investigated in terms of effective environmental factors while distance from main roads, distance from byway, slope and elevation are explored in terms of economical factors.
After prioritization of factors with the help of experts’ idea and combining them in ArcGIS9.2, three appropriate locations were selected. Afterwards, the suitable size of the landfill site needed for the city was calculated, and considering the needed size, the final location for landfill was proposed.