North Vidzeme Region covers more than ten thousand square km, the population is about 200 thousand.
The centre of gravity of waste production is Kocēni Parish in Valmiera District, situated in the south west of Valmiera City. The diameter of the inspected area is 70 km around the waste production centre. To minimise transportation costs and impact on environment caused by waste transportation, the location of the new municipal waste landfill had to be as close as possible to the centre of gravity of waste production. North Vidzeme regional governments came up with their proposals for the location of a potential waste disposal landfill. The places were marked on the North Vidzeme map.
The following search was carried out by methodology consisting of 4 stages:
- exclusion of unsatisfactory places;
- identification of potential areas;
- choice of potential areas;
- final choice of location, based upon the Environmental Impact Assessment.
Places located in nature reserve zones or close to protected areas, e.g., the Gauja National Park were excluded first.
Places with inadequate geological indicators for building, e.g., high groundwater level, insufficient clay layer, etc., were also excluded. More detailed analysis and assessment were carried out for nine locations before their submission to environmental impact assessment.