Sustainable landfill site selection for municipal solid waste based on a hybrid decision-making approach: Fuzzy group BWM-MULTIMOORA-GIS

This paper introduces a framework comprising Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods for application in landfill site selection problem. The developed methodology is utilized in an environmentally critical area related to Mahallat city located in the northwest of Iran. In this process, fourteen effective parameters related to sustainability of the location of landfills are identified and categorized into three groups including environmental, economic, and social criteria. First, criteria weights are obtained by applying the group fuzzy Best-Worst Method (BWM) and then suitability maps are generated based on GIS analysis. From the spatial analysis, eleven potential sites are identified as the most suitable alternatives. These sites are then analyzed and ranked using group fuzzy MULTIMOORA method. This study is different from the previous researches applied the GIS-MCDM approach, in that group fuzzy BWM for weighting criteria is more reliable compared to the other common methods. The group fuzzy MULTIMOORA method, and its three subordinate approaches, select a same candidate, "Site A8" a region near urban area of Mahallat, as the most suitable location for disposing municipal solid waste. (c) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.