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Solid waste disposal site selection using Image Processing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques

Lourdes V. Abellera
Department of Geodetic Engineering
Training Center for Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry
College of Engineering
University of the Philippines
Tel: 920-5301 TO 50 LOCAL 5557 OR 5535
Fax : (632) 922-4714 OR (632) 928-3144
Email : lulu@engg.upd.edu.ph

Abstract
The present solid waste disposal system in the Philippines, the dump method, creates a number of environmental problems like air and water pollution and transmission of communicable diseases. It has been resolved , therefore , that all existing dump sites would be closed and solid waste would be disposed of in landfill, multidisciplinary professionals identify several possible sites based on obvious advantageous features of the area (eg. Near major roads,) sparsely study (eg. Geotechnical studies to finally locate the optimum sites.

There is a technique called geographic information systems or GIS, in which the planner initially specifies all conceivable requirements (eg. site. should be at least 500 meters from the nearest dwelling unit) and based on these, identifies suitable sites for landfill. A GiS is a digital database management system whose distributed data from various sources. The GIS effectively stores, retrievers, analyzes, and displays the collected information according to the specifications of the user of analyst.

This research aims to demonstrate the potential and efficiency of using GIS in selecting optimum sites for the storage of solid waste. The study area selected is cagayan de ora city and its vicinity in the province of misamis oriental the Philippines, because the required of data in this area are readily available. First the requirements in selecting a landfill site are identified. These criteria area according to governments regulations for sound environmental management. The relevant environmental and cultural data area then collected from analogue maps, satellite images, aerial photographs and field surveys. As soon as these data are converted to digital form, they are analyzed using GIS functions (eg. Proximity operation, Boolean operation ). To product a final map showing the areas meeting all the criteria of the optimum sites for solid waste disposal.