Siting MSW Landfill using Hierarchical Fuzzy TOPSIS methodology (case study: karaj)

Site selection is an important and necessary issue for waste management in fast-growing regions. Because of the complexity of waste management systems, the selection of the appropriate solid waste landfill site requires consideration of multiple alternative solutions and evaluation criteria. This paper addresses the sitting of a new landfill using a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and overlay analysis using a geographic information system (GIS). In this article, to obtain suitable sites for sitting MSW landfill, options were identified and presented for a 20-year period of MSW landfill, WLC (Weighted Linear Combination) and cluster analysis methods are used. Finally, to rank the suitable sites for landfill sitting, using the comprehensive hierarchical evaluation model with many main and sub-criteria is constructed and that is used. This approach is Hierarchical Fuzzy TOPSIS. The result showed that third option identified as the most preferred option for sitting MSW landfill. Subsequently, 1361 Sq. Km., i.e., 6 percent of the total area of study area, is suitable for landfill site. Using HFTOPSIS showed easy to use, time saving and performance than other methods as AHP. We suggest the employed procedure for other similar regions.