Identification of potential areas for a sustainable municipal solid waste management ecosystem in Morocco

Abstract

The saturation and obsolescence of public landfills for municipal solid waste (MSW), along with their environmental impacts, pose significant challenges for cities in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra (BK) region of Morocco. This study aims to identify suitable areas for establishing regional facilities that integrate sustainable systems for waste elimination, treatment, and recovery (ETR). Site suitability is influenced by multiple interacting factors, including topography, hydrogeology, socio-economic conditions, and land use, making the selection process complex and multidimensional. To address this, an integrated modeling approach combining Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was developed. GIS was employed to produce a constraint map through multilayer analysis and Boolean classification, while AHP provided weighted criteria for suitability assessment. The combined GIS-AHP analysis identified that only 20% of the regional territory is suitable for ETR facilities, with high (15%), moderate (35%), and low (50%) suitability zones. This approach provides a robust decision-support tool to guide local and regional authorities in planning and implementing sustainable waste management infrastructure, thereby ensuring environmental protection and optimized resource utilization.