Computer Aided Decision Making in Waste Management

The increasingly widespread use of computers as aids to management of technical systems is pointed out. In the context of environmental management Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are being increasingly used for supporting and structuring the spatially referenced information relating to the project, while Multicriteria Decision Aid (MCDA) can provide a rational framework, and algorithms, for arriving at decisions in the face of multiple and conflicting decision criteria. A methodology is currently being researched at the Joint Research Centre for the development of decision support systems by linking GIS with MCDA. The methodology is outlined and a recent application to the management of industrial wastes on regional scale is described.