SPATIAL MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS FOR SITE SELECTION OF SUSTAINABLE STONE WASTE DISPOSAL

Land suitability analysis aims to identify the most appropriate spatial pattern for the site location of waste disposal facilities according to the specific requirements of the sector and the prevailing regulatory framework. This paper presents a methodology combining GIS and Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) in order to evaluate alternative areas for the sustainable disposal of marble stone wastes in the Drama Marble production area in Northern Greece. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as a MCDA technique to organize the identified criteria into a hierarchy structure. The proposed methodology comprises an integral component of the Integrated Waste Management (IWM) tool developed in compliance with the objectives of the EU and Greek legislation on the management of extractionwastes. The IWM assessment highlighted that in order to improve the sustainability of the stone sector, in addition to stone waste reduction and beneficial use, the environmentally safe disposal of the remaining waste quantities is required.