Indiscriminate waste disposal on land can affect soils' geotechnical properties. Hence, the objective of this paper was to assess the effects of biodegradable municipal solid waste (BMSW) and non-biodegradable (NBMSW) on the geotechnical properties of soils. Soil samples were collected from a borrow pit in Ado-Ekiti, while MSW samples were sourced from the Igbatoro dumpsite, Akure, Ondo State. The soil samples were contaminated with waste at a 1:4 ratio and analyzed after 1 and 2 months of contamination with BMSW and NBMSW, respectively. Specific gravity, particle size distribution, compaction, California bearing ratio (CBR), unconfined compressive strength (UCS), and Triaxial shear tests were conducted on the natural and contaminated samples. Results obtained showed that the specific gravity decreased from 2.49 for natural soil to 2.36 and 2.23 for BMSW, and 2.31 and 2.29 for NBMSW after 1 and 2 months, respectively. Contamination led to increased plasticity index values and decreased maximum dry density (MDD) and CBR values. UCS also dropped significantly, with BMSW-contaminated soils showing values of 100.31 kN/m² and 91.05 kN/m² after 1 and 2 months, respectively. Open dumping should be discouraged to reduce environmental hazards and prevent negative effects on soil properties. However, undeveloped land-turned-dumpsites should not be used for construction without adequate investigation.
Ayodele et al. (Fri,) studied this question.