Locating industrial landfill using analytical hierarchy process (AHP)(Case study: Natanz-Isfahan industrial suburbs)

Locating landfills in urban areas is one of the most important issues in urban planning because of the effect on economy, ecology, and environment, therefore the right management and principled landfilling of solid waste is the major concern all over the world especially in the developed countries. In locating landfills, different criteria should be considered. In the present study, locating sites for solid landfill of two industrial suburbs in Natanz using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was investigated so as to present optimal solutions. Three places were investigated as suggested sites and seven factors like distance from the industrial suburb, ease of access, cost of site preparation, access to covering soil, wind direction, soil penetration, and groundwater direction were considered in the decision-making process. Super Decisions software was mployed to create hierarchy network, compare criteria and sub criteria, and finally choose better choice. Based on the results, the third choice located in northeast of Shojaabad suburb and southeast of Ooreh suburb (almost between two suburbs) was selected as the best choice to bury the industrial wastes of these suburbs with score of 0.618 based on the software results. The incompatibility rate was 0.069.