Author(s)

Swidbert Höflinger¹, Mary Antwi², Ampah Amproche Amprofi², Amos Tiereyangn Kabo-Bah¹

¹Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana.
²Department of Environmental Management, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana.

One daunting task faced by waste managers is to appropriately identify safe sites for waste disposal and this study combined expert knowledge, field observations and GIS-based modelbuilder to model and identify suitable dumpsites. Overview of the study area confirmed the random siting of dumpsites that poses threat to environmental safety. Land use and land cover classification produced an overall accuracy of 81.97% with kappa coefficient = 0.78, which was employed in the suitability search criteria. Other key derived parameters vital for safe dumpsite locations were distances to catchment > 100 m, distances to water bodies > 100 m, soil characteristics—clayey, topology (slope of 2 and 4) and geology—Granitoids. The weightings (%) obtained for the key parameters were: water = 32, connection to catchment area = 28, topology = 23, soil = 10 and geology = 7. The exclusion criteria and suitability analysis, based on assigned suitable values from the key weighted parameters in the modelbuilder, produced a map of potential waste disposal sites rating them as most suitable, suitable and less suitable for the Sunyani Municipality. The model for the site identification could be used as a guideline to provide first and quick impression on potential waste disposal sites for stakeholders in waste management. The suitable sites give an indicator for sites with the least possible environmental impact. The study however recommends that for specific locations, further in-depth research be done to suit site-specific conditions in order to improve accuracy.

Waste Disposal, Modelbuilder, Suitability Analysis, Site Identification, Environmental Safety, Pollution

Höflinger, S. , Antwi, M. , Amprofi, A. and Kabo-Bah, A. (2020) Spatial Identification of Potential Dump Disposal Sites for Effective Waste Management in the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 8, 93-111. doi: 10.4236/gep.2020.811005.