Application of Geographical Information System (GIS) for Siting and Management of Solid Waste Disposal in Akure, Nigeria

Abstract

Locating a landfill site in cities of Developing nations have been recognized as a significant physical planning problem and is receiving much attention from researchers in planning sector. A suitable disposal site must have environmental safety criteria and attributes that enable the wastes to be isolated at no risk to people or the environment. Criteria for site selection include; natural physical characteristics, socio-economic, ecological and landuse factors. Different tools and techniques have been developed for solid waste disposal site selection in Developing Countries. This paper examines the selection of waste disposal sites using Geographical Information System in Akure, Nigeria. Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM + ) 2002 and Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) 2011 were used to map the most suitable site for waste disposal in Akure. The result indicates that sites were found within the study area. The most suitable sites in the study area are located at 750m to surface water and 300m to major and minor roads, which ensure that economic costs of implementation are mutual. The selected areas have slopes less than 12%, with infrastructural advantage and minimizing environmental impacts. The study proposes acceptable landfill sites for solid waste disposal in the city.