Site Suitability Analysis of Solid Waste Disposal in Ilesa, Nigeria

This paper reveals site suitability analysis for solid waste disposal in Ilesa town of Osun State, Nigeria; with a view to recommending the best site locations for solid waste management in the town. In a survey process, using multi-stage sampling technique, the research made use of 563 copies of a structured questionnaire, which were administered to households in selected quarters of Ilesa. Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques were equally involved in site suitability analysis of existing sites and the determination of proposed/suitable sites for solid waste dumping. Among other findings, household-heads complained of various forms of air pollution emanating from existing minor dumpsites proximal to their homes, with offensive odour being the predominant pollution. Also, the Ilesa solid waste dumpsite (the major dumpsite in town) is located along the Ilesa-Ife expressway at the outskirts of the town and is operated as an open dumpsite rather than a composting, sanitary land fill, incineration or recycling site or system. Relating to this, it was discovered that certain residential buildings were located within 500 metres radius of the dumpsite, which was found inappropriate, using the 2006 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) landfill standard for ‘moderately’ suitable site. This paper recommends minimum distance of 500 metres and 250 metres for water provision and setback from trunk road respectively. Furthermore, the Multi-criteria decision analysis, Factor Criteria and Constraints Criteria from 2006 EPA Landfill Manual were used to determine the best locations for solid waste dumpsites in the area.