Identification of suitable landfill sites for Kumo Urban Area Gombe State, Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, Sentinel 2A satellite imagery, SRTM, soil, geology, hydrology and topographic maps were used in driving thirteen criteria themes for the selection of suitable landfill sites that is environmentally friendly for Kumo urban area by the aid of remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. To achieve this goal, pairwise comparison technique of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used for generation of criteria weights. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) technique was employed for the production of landfill site suitability index map. The results obtained shows that, among the forty six identified sites only six satisfied a half Km² required benchmark. Site five was proposed for landfill development due to its proximity (3.311Km) to the waste generation center, closeness (0.5Km) to the main road and convenient morphology (with slope between 1 to 4°). The outcomes of this study showed that there is a sizeable suitable land for landfill development within the study area. Finally, it is recommended that the proposed landfill sites should be open further for geotechnical and hydrological investigations before its take-off.

Keywords: Solid Waste disposal, Landfill, MCDA, AHP, SRTM