In Morocco, as in most developing countries, landfill is still the only solution for the final disposal
of municipal solid waste. The choice of suitable site for waste disposal is one of the main problems in waste
management. This requires that many environmental and economic considerations be respected. This paper
describes a decisional step for locating a suitable site to dispose the municipal solid wastes of using Geographic
Information Systems (GIS). The methodology adopted is based on a multi-criteria analysis grid and was applied
the case of the Meknes area in Morocco. The landfill sitting criteria were subdivided in two types: exclusion or
constraint criteria and assessment criteria. These criteria are based on geographical data from several layers
such, geology, hydrology, hydrogeology, demography, topography, etc. The prevailing wind direction, distance
from city, proximity to water body, visual exposition, and proximity to road networks were also considered.
After integration of all these constraints, suitable sites were shortlisted. Four sites were suggested as alternatives
to the existing disposal site taking into consideration the environmental, social, and economical variables
applied in the GIS analysis.