Use of Geographic Information System for Selection of Sustainable Waste Disposal Site in Owerri West, Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

One of fundamental problem in waste management is to identify suitable locations for refuse dump. This is because it requires integration of numerous economic and environmental factors. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to use Geographic Information System (GIS) for the selection of sustainable waste disposal site in Owerri West, Imo State, Nigeria. Data used include shuttle radar topographic mission (SRTM DEM) data of 3 arc seconds, LANDSAT satellite data of 30m resolution, geological data, google earth satellite imagery, administrative map of the study area and ground control point (GCP) collected by ground point survey (GPS). These datasets were populated in ArcGIS 10.5 window and harmonized in a common coordinate system. Six factors which include nearness to river and road, settlement, land use, slope and elevation were considered as waste dump siting constrains. These factors were weighted, reclassified and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and GIS over lay analysis were combined in selecting optimal and sustainable waste dumping locations. The results of the study are categorized into highly suitable, suitable, moderately suitable and unsuitable. Field observations also confirmed suitability of the selected sites. The highly suitable locations are those that possess the optimal quality and characteristics for sustainable waste disposal while the suitable sites can be kept as back up for future use.