Compliance factors within a GIS‐based framework for landfill siting

Abstract

The complex process of siting landfills involves a number of stakeholders with varying perspectives and priorities. The constraints which must be met by any potential landfill site are numerous and diverse. In this paper a GIS‐based decision‐aid tool and framework are presented as a robust alternative for analysing large sets of complex data of varying nature in a quick and reliable manner. The approach devised is flexible. It allows the siting criteria, the associated importance factors, and site compliance levels, to be easily varied by means of drop‐down menus embedded in ArcGIS, to reflect local and regional priorities and concerns. The case of Lebanon has been used to illustrate potential uses of the tool and methodology, which could be implemented in any other context for which the base data are available. The necessary data coverages were obtained and/or developed from Lebanese country‐wide sources, coupled with field surveys. Two basic scenarios were simulated for demonstration purposes: the first incorporates an engineering and infrastructure compliance priority, while the second focuses on environmental concerns and associated indicators.