Determining rural areas vulnerable to illegal dumping using GIS techniques. Case study: Neamt county, Romania

TL;DR

This study uses GIS techniques to identify rural areas in Neamt County, Romania, that are vulnerable to illegal household waste dumping, aiding in targeted waste management and environmental protection efforts.

Contribution

It introduces a GIS-based assessment method for mapping illegal dumping vulnerability in rural areas, filling a gap in current waste management research.

Findings

Identified specific vulnerable zones near built-up areas.

Correlated GIS maps with field observations.

Highlighted geographical disparities affecting waste management.

Abstract

The paper aims to mapping the potential vulnerable areas to illegal dumping of household waste from rural areas in the extra- Carpathian region of Neamt County. These areas are ordinary in the proximity of built-up areas and buffers areas of 1 km were delimited for every locality. Based on various map layers in vector formats (land use, rivers, built-up areas, roads etc) an assessment method is performed to highlight the potential areas vulnerable to illegal dumping inside these buffer areas at local scale. The results are correlated to field observations and current situation of waste management systems. The maps outline local disparities due to various geographical conditions of county. This approach is a necessary tool in EIA studies particularly for rural waste management systems at local and regional scale which are less studied in current literature than urban areas.