Landfill site selection with GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation technique. A case study in Béni Mellal-Khouribga Region, Morocco

Given the potential negative environmental impacts linked with wild landfills in Béni Mellal-Khouribga Region, there is a significant need to accelerate the development of controlled intermunicipal landfills. Any landfill project requires identification of the most suitable sites to prevent environmental adversity. So, this study was conducted to identify candidate landfill sites using geographic information system (GIS) and multi-criteria evaluation techniques. Ten suitability criteria including distance to residential areas, aspect (wind), geology (lithology), distance to faults, distance to surface water, groundwater table, land use, distance to roads, elevation, and slope are considered in the siting assessment. The thematic maps of all criteria were prepared in GIS environment using Boolean and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) standardization. After hiding unsuitable areas of landfill sites identified by the Boolean method, each criterion was evaluated with the aid of AHP and the final landfill site suitability map was generated using the overlay analysis in GIS. The results showed that 54% of the study area is not suitable, 12% is lowly suitable, 24% is moderately suitable, and indeed 10% is highly suitable for landfilling. The identified suitable areas will require careful field studies before the final decision for landfill site selection. Nonetheless, this study can help planners and local and regional authorities to better manage the solid waste in the region.