A GIS-based novel approach for suitable sanitary landfill site selection using integrated fuzzy analytic hierarchy...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Waste Management

Background:

• Open dumping is prevalent in developing nations, posing significant environmental and health risks.
• Sustainable solid waste management (SWM) requires strategic landfill site selection.
• Aligarh city, India, faces challenges with current waste disposal practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel GIS-based methodology for optimal landfill site selection.
• To implement ensemble fuzzy analytic hierarchy process models for suitability mapping.
• To identify potential landfill sites for sustainable SWM in Aligarh.

Main Methods:

• Utilized eighteen thematic layers within a GIS framework.
• Employed ensemble fuzzy analytic hierarchy process-support vector machine (FAHP-SVM) and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process-random forest (FAHP-RF) models.
• Validated model accuracy using the area under the curve (AUC) metric.

Main Results:

• Identified land value, distance from residential areas/hospitals/clinics/waste bins, and NDBI as significant factors.
• FAHP-RF model demonstrated higher accuracy (AUC = 0.91) compared to FAHP-SVM.
• Seven potential landfill sites were identified, with three designated as most suitable based on multiple criteria.

Conclusions:

• The GIS-based FAHP-RF model offers an effective approach for landfill site selection.
• The study proposes a zonal division model for sustainable SWM in Aligarh.
• Findings provide a transferable guideline for landfill site selection in other developing countries.