A vector-based spatial model for landfill siting

An inappropriate landfill site may have negative environmental, economic or ecological impacts. Therefore, landfill siting should carefully consider various factors and regulations and evaluate a significant amount of spatial data. However, processing of spatial information for various siting factors is tedious. Digitized data is thus frequently used for improving data processing and analysis efficiency. Vector-based data are composed of points, lines and polygons, which express geo-referenced attributes of the real world. Compared to raster-based data, although describing real world spatial information more precisely, the lack of uniformity makes vector-based data difficult to use with a mathematical optimization model. In this study, a mixed-integer spatial optimization model is developed based on vector-based data to assist decision makers in finding a suitable site from a siting area. Major factors considered in the model include impacts on the environment, economic efficiency, and site compactness. A sample case is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model.