LANDFILL SITE SELECTION BY INTEGRATING A GIS ANALYSIS WITH AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY OF OAHU, HAWAII

摘要

The primary objective of this study was to develop an integrative methodology for landfill site selection that links a geographic information system (GIS)-based analysis with an economic framework. The basic site selection framework was to minimize social costs given constraints (exclusionary criteria) using a two-part process: (i) a GIS-based analysis that determines potential sites which fulfill certain constraints and (ii) an economic analysis (e.g., meta-analysis and mean transfer value approaches) that ranks the selected sites according to social cost minimization. The integrative approach was applied to the island of Oahu, Hawaii as a case study, and results were compared with a recent City and County of Honolulu study. Social costs were high compared with the City's direct costs and varied by target sites due to market conditions, different methods used, different models used, and different lengths of landfill life. In terms of sensitivity, validity, and reliability criteria, the meta-analysis models were preferred to the mean transfer value approach. This study provided an alternative method for site selection that is less costly in terms of time and money. Further research is needed to analyze public preferences incorporating various individuals, groups, and minority populations.