Site Suitability Analysis for Solid Waste Landfill Site Location Using Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing: A Case Study of Banket Town Board, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The aim of this study was to map the optimal sites that were environmentally suitable for locating a dumpsite in the Zimbabwean town of Banket as well as investigating the suitability of the dumpsite being currently used by the Banket Town Board. Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing constituted the main quantitative techniques used in data collection. Digitizing, buffering and overlaying were used to map suitable sites for locating a dumpsite in Banket. Environmental parameters were extracted from Google Earth by way of digitizing, buffered using Quantum GIS 2.8 and then overlaid using Quantum GIS 2.8 to produce the suitability map. In support of the quantitative techniques, qualitative techniques that included interviews, questionnaires, observations and literature were used to compliment the quantitative methods. Results of the research presented a suitability map which showed the possible suitable sites for establishing a dumpsite in Banket as well as the most considered suitable site in the eastern part of the town. In mapping the suitable sites according to a number of buffered parameters (Central Business District, Railway line, Road, and Rivers) the current dumpsite was found to lie within the parameters designated as unsuitable. It was recommended that Banket should consider closing its current dumpsite for a better location from the possible suitable sites established by the study especially the site on the eastern part of the town which is suitable in terms of all buffered parameters as well as other confounding variables that include economy, accessibility and elevation as well as slope.

Geospatial analysis of landfill site selection perspectives using geographic information systems in Bongo district, Ghana

“…Such unique district guideline should take preference over those from the higher level. The results in this study concur with the existing literature that showed the superiority of GIS-based multicriteria approach for site selection [9,21,22]. This superiority of the approach is not limited to landfill siting alone but also for infrastructure such as electric vehicle charging stations [31], bike-share stations [11] and potential ecotourism sites [32].…”

“…Another reason could be the generally poor planning and modelling or proactive attitudes towards addressing problems in the country. Studies on landfill siting in Ghana [2, 7] and elsewhere [9,21,22] have shown that the standards set in the governmental guideline are inadequate to achieve environmental and health quality or prevent the issue of nimby, nimn and banana syndrome. It is not surprising that this phenomenon is common and widespread in the country [23,24], especially against landfill siting.…”

“…The governmental policy directive is for districts in Ghana, including the Bongo district, to identify areas suitable for landfill sites and acquire those lands in far advance of development activities. However, the selection of a site for developing a landfill, taking into account environmental, engineering, social, political and economic factors, is one of the most important decisions to make in executing the district's waste management responsibility [9]. A poorly chosen site is likely to be associated with high costs of waste transport, site development and operations, or environmental protection.…”

“…The criteria for selecting suitable landfill sites are themselves subject to prioritisation according to the local environmental, social, political, economic, physical and engineering considerations [9]. Such prioritisation of factors is so important in a suitability analysis such as landfill siting.…”

Spatial Identification of Potential Dump Disposal Sites for Effective Waste Management in the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana

“…However, it could be stated that in order to decrease the impact of the waste in a short term, establishing proper disposal sites could help and initiate a transition to more technological solutions when the basic needs are met (Nnorom & Osibanjo, 2008). Several studies (Henry et al, 2006;Jerie & Zulu, 2017;Idowu et al, 2019) have been done in developing countries on how to construct simple solutions, but appropriate promotion is lacking. These studies also emphasize on preparation and management of disposal sites which is a key issue at the moment.…”