Municipal solid waste management practices and sanitary landfill site selection using the AHP approach for emerging industrial zones

Selecting the right location for waste management is crucial for emerging and rapidly growing industrial towns. The intricate nature of waste management systems necessitates careful consideration of numerous options and evaluation criteria when selecting a suitable landfill site. This study, conducted in Arerti Town, Ethiopia, utilized the GIS and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to establish a hierarchical model for identifying a suitable landfill location by considering the ten main influencing factors (groundwater table depth, proximity to boreholes, slope, soil, geology, land use, land cover, proximity to reservoirs and proximity to lineaments, built-up area, and road availability). Besides, GIS were used to manipulate and display spatial data, with all maps graded on a scale of 1 to 5, representing the lowest to highest suitability, respectively. The combined results of the AHP and GIS analyses indicated that 20.6% of the study area was deemed unsuitable, 77.67% moderately suitable and 1.75% highly suitable for a landfill. We chose a 12.5-hectare site in the southwest as the optimal location, taking into account future town expansion and its proximity to urban areas and roads. The findings of this study serve as a valuable resource for decision-makers in assessing waste management challenges in emerging towns and rapidly developing urban areas.