A novel multi-criteria framework for environmental and strategic assessment of mining waste disposal sites

The transition toward circular economy and bioeconomy frameworks necessitates a paradigm shift in mining waste management, moving beyond mere disposal to strategic, risk-aware decision-making. However, selecting sustainable storage sites is a complex process involving conflicting environmental, geotechnical, and socio-economic criteria laden with expert uncertainty. This study proposes a novel two-stage intuitionistic fuzzy (IF) integrated group multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework designed to support robust environmental management decisions. First, the Intuitionistic Fuzzy Pivot Pairwise Relative Criteria Importance Assessment (IF-PIPRECIA) method is employed to determine the weights of criteria across six dimensions, effectively capturing hesitation in expert judgments. Second, the Intuitionistic Fuzzy VIekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje (IF-VIKOR) method ranks alternative sites by balancing group utility and individual regret. The framework is validated through a case study in a region characterized by high mining potential and environmental sensitivity (Trabzon, Türkiye). The results reveal that "impact on air and surface water," "pollution risk," and "regulatory compliance" are the dominant factors driving sustainable site selection. Among the alternatives, the site that best balances ecological safety with operational feasibility was identified as the leading compromise option. Sensitivity analyses confirm the model's stability under variations in weighting. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the practical applicability of the proposed framework and highlight its contribution to the literature as the first integration of IF-PIPRECIA and IF-VIKOR in this domain, offering policymakers and practitioners a transparent, evidence-based tool for managing mining waste in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).