Study on the Fuzzy Multi-criteria Decision Making Method for Landfill Siting

As the quantity of waste and by-product
materials generated in our society continue to
increase with growing consumer population,
the demand for landfill spaces in Taiwan are
in also stimulated. Due to the limited
available land spaces and high population
density, it has become increasingly difficult
to find suitable sites. Thus, it is vital to
develop an effective and efficient method for
landfill siting with considering
environmental and socio-economic factors.
The Analytic Hierarchy Process of
quantitative Multi-criteria Decision Making
(MCDM) method assisted by Fuzzy Set
theory was used to determine the importance
among the alternatives for the decision
makers. Geographical Information System
was also employed to allow decision makers
to recognize the spatial characteristics of thedata. The methodology for landfill siting
developed by this study would helps decision
makers to make better decisions by taking
account of the expert opinions coupled with
knowledge of current environmental status.
The results showed that when á-cut =0
and λ(index of pessimism) =0, economical
factors play the vital roles in landfill siting,
and the favored locations for construction of
new landfills were located at the suburban
areas. However, when λ=1, the importance
of environmental and social factors were
enhanced in landfill siting, rural areas would
be the most preferred locations for landfill
construction.