DETERMINATION OF WEIGHT FOR LANDFILL-SITING CRITERIA UNDER CONFLICTING BIFUZZY PREFERENCE RELATION

Abstract

Selection of suitable landfill sites becomes more relevant as a community population increases. Potential landfill sites must be carefully screened to ensure the chosen site meets all engineering, geological, and regulatory criteria. However, choosing the right criteria and its contributions toward landfill-siting selection are very much conflicting notions and far from conclusive. Weights for landfill-siting criteria are seen as less tangible and may be seen differently. This paper investigates the determination of weights for ten criteria in landfill-siting problems using a conflicting preference approach. Three landfill management experts from three different municipalities in Kedah, Malaysia were interviewed to elicit conflicting judgements data over the criteria of landfill-site selection. The judgement data were aggregated using the proposed five-steps of conflicting bifuzzy preference relations. In this investigation, it is found that the criteria of Political Issues gained the highest weight followed by the criterion of Land Use. The results offer a good input to policy makers in landfill management, especially in a situation where weight-determination solutions are needed.