Allocation of sanitary landfill in consortium: strategy for the Brazilian municipalities in the State of Amazonas

One of the current problems faced by the Brazilian municipalities is the adequate disposal of municipal solid waste in landfills while considering the environmental dimension. In addition to the design and technical requirements, the analysis of possible sites is a process requiring an evaluation of different criteria. With the proposal to minimize and rationalize efforts for site selection, this paper presents a methodology to evaluate its suitability based on certain criteria (legal, technical, environmental). The selection of the most preferable areas for the installation of a landfill is in context of a model for municipal consortium proposed in the State Plan of Solid Waste of Amazonas which applies to the municipalities of Atalaia do Norte, Benjamin Constant, and Tabatinga. The Analytic Hierarchy Process method was combined with geoprocessing tools in order to determine the relative importance of the evaluation criteria while considering the inherent limitations of data availability for the area of study. Thus, based on the participation of expert groups an aptitude map was produced where 47 potential areas were identified as suitable for the installation of a landfill in those municipalities. Among them, the most suitable is located near the highway that connects the municipalities of Benjamin Constant and Atalaia do Norte.