Application of Group Decision Making Techniques, Fuzzy Logic and GIS in Site Selection of Recycling Center

Since last decade, waste recycling- as an effective option for reducing the expenses of waste management and survival of natural resources- has gained striking attentions in many countries. The essence of proper management of recycling process and control of its probable negative consequences, made the organization of recycling industries unavoidable. To achieving these objectives, establishment of recycling center can be proposed as a good alternative. With respect to the importance of transportation costs in profitability of recycling industries, recycling centers are constructed in urban areas. Therefore, in order to avoid from their harmful effects the location of these facilities should be selected according to scientific bases. Accordingly, this article aims to propose an approach to combine Delphi and fuzzy-Delphi, as group decision making techniques, as well as GIS capabilities in order to determination of suitable sites for establishing recycling center in urban regions. The practical application of this approach also has been done in region nine (9) of municipality of Tehran. The criteria and their allowable distances were determined using classical Delphi technique and fuzzy Delphi, respectively. Subsequently, the results were bringing to GIS environment to determine suitable sites. Therefore, the spatial database of study area developed. Screening of suitable areas for establishment of recycling center was done using the specified allowable distances of criteria. Finally, site visits and expert judgments resulted in determination of five appropriate sites for recycling center construction.