Site Selection of Municipal Solid Wastes by GIS and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in Kangavar City, Kermanshah Province

The huge production of municipal solid wastes is one of the most important problems in modern societies. Improper management of the produced wastes may result in environmental pollution and is a threat to human health. Site selection for municipal waste disposal is considered as an important stage in waste management. Geological, environmental, social and economic considerations are the most important parameters which influence the selection of proper waste disposal sites. In the present study, site selection for the disposal of municipal solid wastes produced in Kangavar city, Eastern Kermanshah, has been investigated. For this purpose, geological (i.e. lithology, seismology, faults, soil texture and soil erosion potential), environmental (i.e. precipitation, distance from rivers, water table depth, and prevailing wind direction), and social-economical (i.e. distance from the roads, land use, rural and urban population centers, slope and elevation) factors were considered as the most significant factors and then, fourteen data layers were created in GIS software and the weight of each layer was determined using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). After the combination of GIS maps and AHP data and omitting the forbidden areas, the area was classified into four classes (i.e. suitable, relatively suitable, relatively unsuitable, and unsuitable areas) for waste disposal. On the basis of geological, environmental, and social-economical criteria and after field surveys, the best site for waste disposal was selected at 16 Km south of the Kangavar city.