Locating appropriate areas of municipal waste landfill using TOPSIS method (Case study: Langroud County)

The lack of suitable landfill for burial and maintenance of garbage in different parts of Guilan has not only eliminated forest hectares and agricultural land, but also left public health at serious risk. The Langroud County is also not safe from the consequences of garbage as a tourist destination of Guilan province, despite the abundant bay areas in the mountains, the beautiful Chamkhala Beach on the Caspian Sea and the dense forests. Therefore, in this research, we tried to locate the new susceptible areas of municipal sanitary landfill, taking into account environmental standards in Langroud County.
In this research, 20 criteria were used in accordance with the standards of the Iranian Environmental Protection Agency, the Alberta State Environmental Authority of Canada, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the British Columbia Environmental Ministry as criteria for locating. TOPSIS method was used in combining the criteria maps in ArcGIS software environment.
After passing TOPSIS and combining the layers obtained in the ArcGIS software environment, the final map of urban landfill location within the study area was classified into five classes (very weak, weak, moderate, good and excellent).
Based on the results, five prestigious areas in the south and southwest of the city with the highest degree of fit and excellent grade, are proposed as new areas of urban waste disposal for the city of Langroud