Locating the Proper Sites for Sanitary Landfill of Wastewater and Wastes with a Land Use Planning Approach (Case Study: Basra County, Iraq)

Abstract

In today's world, waste and wastewater management has become one of the fundamental challenges in large cities. Basra County, Iraq, is one of the industrial and densely populated areas facing serious issues. This study sought to determine the optimal sites for urban trash disposal in Basra County utilizing a land use planning methodology. The applied research method was descriptive-analytical, utilizing the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques. Site selection was based on five primary criteria: human issues, hydrology, geology, geomorphology, and environmental considerations. The findings indicated that, among the evaluated factors, the distance from population centers (0.3679) and land use (0.2562) possessed the most significant weights. After layer integration and applying legal restrictions, suitable areas were categorized into three priorities, with areas of 15,225, 2,457, and 1,876 hectares, respectively. This study demonstrated that using a land use planning approach for waste disposal site selection could help mitigate negative environmental, social, and economic impacts, providing a suitable model for other similar regions.