Construction Scopes on an Old and Abandoned Open Solid Waste Dump Site in Hilly Areas

Abstract

With the continuous population growth driven by higher birth rate than death rate, increased demand for developable spaces in urban areas have became a major issue of concern. So this ceaseless increase in population has created increased interest in construction on top of landfills. This study embraces experimental design to find out the suitability of abandoned solid waste site (ASWS) for any construction activity. Geotechnical properties of soil samples of ASWS and adjoining soil samples are measured at a depth of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 8.0 m to investigate the difference in properties of abandoned solid waste site soil from natural soil. The soil samples were firstly determined for their nature and type and then subjected to direct shear test to find out cohesion and angle of internal resistance. Data collected was used to calculate ultimate bearing capacity which showed a huge variation. This is due to the effects of ‘reinforced earth scenario’ i.e. unusual high strength spots caused by mix matrices of soil and non-soil materials and unnoticed randomly distributed weak spots. Further Settlement was calculated by applying surcharge loading and the results showed a larger settlement value than allowable limits making the landfill site unsuitable for any hard top use.