Estimating solid waste generation and suitability analysis of landfill sites using regression, geospatial, and remote sensing techniques in Rangpur, Bangladesh

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management has been a growing problem in fast-developing cities. A considerable amount of solid waste is generated daily and disposed anywhere, which creates an unhealthy environment. This study aims to develop a model to determine household solid waste (HSW) generation using multiple linear regression and identify suitable landfill sites to ensure proper MSW disposal in Rangpur City, Bangladesh. Socioeconomic variables data like average monthly income, educational level, family size, age of family head, and average HSW generation per day were collected from 381 respondents through stratified random sampling with a 95% confidence level. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was performed using variables like surface water, slope, road network, and land use through GIS and remote sensing to find suitable landfill sites. Results of the model show no multicollinearity as the variance inflation factor was estimated to be less than 2 for each independent variable. Furthermore, the model provides a moderate overall fit because of the coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.661), which denotes the independent variables’ predictive capability. The results also demonstrate that family size and education are the most critical variables in predicting waste generation because of the values of coefficients 122.39 and − 184.72, respectively. This study also illustrated suitable landfill sites through MCDA, which can be a useful resource for the city authority to ensure environmental sustainability by implementing effective strategies for proper MSW management.