Local residents’ perception of landfill impacts in Palestine: the case of Zahrat Al-Finjan landfill

Abstract

Waste disposal sector and local landfills operation are considered one of the major sources of pollution in Palestine. This paper focuses on the determination of the main negative impacts caused by Zahrat Al-Finjan landfill operation in the northern part of the West Bank. The data were collected from seven nearby communities. Overall results showed that odor emissions, impacts on plants and animals, impacts on inhabitants’ hygiene, impacts on traffic and aesthetic views and pollution due to leachate spills, presence of insects and rodents, reduction in the value of the nearby land are the most significant negative impacts. In particular home-landfill distance plays an important role to the negative impact perception in cases such as particularly odors, and quality of life. On the other hand, dust, noise, and impact on groundwater are not considered issues of major issues of concerns from the residents’ point of view. This fact is highly influenced by the application of compensatory benefits to locals. The Logistic Regression Model, that was developed to assess the factors that could affect the residents’ perception of impacts on traffic, aesthetics and pollution due to leachate spills, showcased that age, gender, level of education are the most significant explanatory variables.