مجلة الاربعين المحكمة
Landfill siting is a challenging and intricate process, making it a prominent issue in waste management. The complexity arises from various factors, such as population growth, rapid economic expansion, and improvements in living standards. Unfortunately, in Iraq, landfill siting often neglects environmental regulations, especially in the Karbala, Babel, and Baghdad Governorates, situated in the middle part of Mesopotamia plain. These regions cover areas of 4568.45 km2, 7106.29 km2, and 820.190 km2, with populations of 1,218,732, 2,065,042, and 8,126,755, respectively. Existing landfills in these areas are not selected in accordance with environmental standards. To address this issue, a landfill site was identified through a comprehensive approach that involved spatial overlay analysis using a geographic information system (GIS) to developing a supervised logic decision depends on surface and subsurface geology conditions. Numerous factors were taken into consideration during the siting process, including water resources, building sites, sensitive soil types, and topographic slope. The Weighted Overlay method was employed to assign relative weights to the mentioned criteria. As a result of this thorough process, seven sites were identified as the most suitable landfill locations, covering a total area of approximately 291.057 km.