Selection of the Suitable Method for Olive Oil Industry Waste Management in Guilan Province using the AHP Method

In order to choose the optimal solution for the management of residual by products from the olive oil industry in Roudbar city of Guilan province, a systematic literature review and expert consultation were conducted to select the criteria. Four criteria, including economic, technical, social and environmental aspects were identified for choosing the solution which they divided into 12 sub-criteria. A paired comparison questionnaire was designed and completed through face-to-face interviews with 20 skilled experts in this field, using a purposeful sampling method. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was employed to analyze the data and perform calculations. The findings revealed that the economic criterion was the most important criterion with a weight of 0.478 in selecting the waste management approach for the olive oil industry. Afterward, respectively, technical criteria with a weight of 0.248, environmental with a weight of 0.183, and social with a weight of 0.091 were placed in the next ranks of importance by the experts. In the ranking of the alternatives, compost production was identified as the best option for managing olive oil waste in Guilan province. The results of the alternatives ranking indicated that compost production with a weight of 0.245 was considered the best option for olive oil waste in Guilan province. Followed by, renewable energy production (0.243) ranked second, animal feed production (0.236) ranked third, extraction of valuable materials (0.194) ranked fourth and finally dump in landfills (0.082) ranked last.