Development and application of a prioritization and rehabilitation decision support tool for uncontrolled waste disposal sites in developing countries

The uncontrolled dumping of solid waste is widespread in many developing countries with most of all generated wastes being indiscriminately disposed of in an unsanitary manner that entails significant environmental and public health risks. It is imperative to prioritize dumpsites based on their relative risks so that the necessary control and remedial measures can be undertaken. This research aimed to formulate a pragmatic prioritization and rehabilitation decision tool that can be utilized in low‐ and middle‐income countries to guide decision makers in prioritizing dumpsites for remediation and in identifying the most suitable rehabilitation option for municipal as well as construction and demolition waste. The established prioritization model presents an integrated, risk‐based approach to developing a decision‐making tool for dumpsite prioritization and rehabilitation. The rehabilitation tool drew on a decision tree module to develop the appropriate remedial measures required for each site. The model proved to be effective in prioritizing uncontrolled solid waste disposal sites in Lebanon and for adopting control and remedial measures that can considerably improve decision‐making. The improper disposal of solid waste adversely affects public health and the environment in, to a greater or lesser extent, almost all low‐ and middle‐income countries. Considering that it is unfeasible to remediate all uncontrolled solid waste disposal sites at once, the proposed model facilitates the evaluation process by prioritizing sites for closure and remediation based on their relative risks. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:436–445. © 2022 SETAC Key Points This study presents a pragmatic prioritization model to prioritize dumpsites based on a risk sensitivity index (RSI) with two different tools to address municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition waste (CDW) dumpsites. The prioritization model serves to categorically stratify uncontrolled municipal waste disposal sites into different classifications based on the RSI, which indicates the risk to the environment and the need for intervention. The rehabilitation decision tool (RDT) provides a methodological framework that describes and compares different remediation scenarios depending on the RSI. The easy‐to‐use model can be used to facilitate the decisions that many municipal authorities have to make when it comes to prioritizing dumpsites for remediation and adopting an appropriate remediation pla