A vector-based spatial model for landfill siting

Abstract

An inappropriate landfill site may have negative environmental, economic or ecological impacts. Therefore, landfill siting should carefully consider various factors and regulations and evaluate a significant amount of spatial data. However, processing of spatial information for various siting factors is tedious. Digitized data is thus frequently used for improving data processing and analysis efficiency. Vector-based data are composed of points, lines and polygons, which express gee-referenced attributes of the real world. Compared to raster-based data, although describing real world spatial information more precisely, the lack of uniformity makes vector-based data difficult to use with a mathematical optimization model. In this study, a mixed-integer spatial optimization model is developed based on vector-based data to assist decision makers in finding a suitable site from a siting area. Major factors considered in the model include impacts on the environment, economic efficiency, and site compactness. A sample case is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.