A spatial decision support tool for landfill site selection : case for municipal solid waste management

Abstract

One of the problems faced worldwide is waste management. It involves several activities, which can be categorized into: collection, transportation and disposal of waste. Computerizing the processes involved in these activities can help to improve efficiency and effectiveness in waste management. However, the process of particular interest and environmental concern is the effective selection of sites for waste disposal (landfill sites). The current process of selecting landfills in Uganda is manual, costly and time consuming. This paper presents the design and development of a Spatial Decision Support Tool as a computer-based technology that can be used to solve the complex process of landfill site selection for municipal solid waste management in Kampala and the neighboring Wakiso districts. Several parameters required in landfill site selection such as an area’s distance from: roads, rivers, lakes, wetlands, towns, gazetted land, and the soil type, topography, land cover of an area among others were considered. The tool was developed based on existing literature on landfill site selection, Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS), Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE). The model used by the tool was designed using ArcView Spatial Analyst 2.0, the user interfaces were designed using Avenue Programming language and Visual Basic 6.0, and ArcView GIS 3.2a provided the Database Management System. The results of the tool were validated using Ground Truthing. The results of this study can be very helpful during the procurement process of landfill sites; that is, the concerned authorities can save time and costs associated with inspection and evaluation for bidders whose sites are located far outside the range of potentially identified areas.