Site selection of municipal solid waste incineration plant using GIS and multicriteria decision analysis

J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2022 Sep;72(9):1027-1039. doi: 10.1080/10962247.2022.2064002. Epub 2022 Jun 13.

Abstract

Fast population growth and urbanization has increased the generation of municipal solid waste in Oman. Currently, Oman relies on landfills to handle growing amounts of waste, which has burdened the existing solid waste management infrastructure. This situation calls for establishing incineration plants that can considerably reduce the volume of waste, and can simultaneously produce electricity. However, one of the crucial steps in the planning of an incineration plant is the selection of an appropriate site that can overcome environmental and economic implications and eliminate community dissatisfaction. Therefore, to select an optimal site for incineration plant in Muscat and South Batinah governorates, where landfills receive the highest waste amounts per day, this research identified 11 criteria that cover the environmental, economic, and social concerns. These criteria were processed by combining the multicriteria decision making (MCDM) method and geographical information system (GIS) software where the suitability of individual criteria were evaluated and then integrated using the weighted overlay analysis to generate a final suitability map for incineration site selection. The final suitability map indicated that only 2% of the land is suitable for setting up an incineration plant in the study area, and the most suitable location with adequate area was found in Barka wilaya of South Batinah governorate.Implications: Due to the escalation in MSW generation, Oman is looking for alternative strategies to reduce the volume of MSW. This has led to country's interest in establishing a waste-to-energy plant (particularly incineration) in the future. However, locating a suitable site for the installation of an MSW incineration plant in Oman has never been studied before. Therefore, to bridge the gap in knowledge, this research focuses on selecting a suitable site for a municipal solid waste incineration plant using GIS and multicriteria decision analysis. This study highlights the suitability of Muscat and North Batinah governorates of Oman where landfills receive huge amounts of MSW on a daily basis and are close to becoming saturated. Moreover, the suitability of land in both governorates is assessed to overcome environmental and economic implications and eliminate community dissatisfaction. This research not only provides the level of suitability of land in both governorates, but also selects a suitable site, which will be beneficial for the government of Oman in future when making a decision regarding the location of the plant.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Decision Support Techniques
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Incineration
  • Refuse Disposal* / methods
  • Solid Waste* / analysis
  • Waste Disposal Facilities

Substances

  • Solid Waste