Geotechnical Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in Raipur City, Chhattisgarh

Abstract Municipal solid waste (MSW) is challenging to dispose of on land due to its varied composition, complicating landfill management and upkeep. The variety of waste materials leads to complexity, which poses significant problems for landfill design. Waste in landfills is more diverse, making management and treatment more challenging. Due to their impact on settlement rates and potential risks of slope instability, aspects such as compaction methods, liner system integrity, and waste composition play a critical role in controlling landfill stability. The physical characteristics and strength parameters of MSW are necessary to determine the stability of the landfill. The Geotechnical characteristics of MSW are crucial for the design of the landfill. MSW was disposed at the Raipur landfill, which has been operating for about 6 years, the sample at 1m depth is taken under the present study. It observed that 30% of MSW was found to be a soil-like material after segregation. The geotechnical properties are determined with soil-like material, which is classified as well-graded sand (SW) as per IS classification. The geotechnical properties such as moisture content, grain size distribution, unit weight, specific Gravity, compaction, cohesion, friction angle, and permeability are determined. It is observed that the geotechnical properties also match the properties of sand. An attempt is made to check out that the soil-like material retained can be used as a fill material as the properties are similar to sand. Comparative analysis of existing landfill MSW geotechnical properties is also done to get a clear and strong idea about the geotechnical properties. Numerical analysis is conducted with the obtained geotechnical properties, shape and size parameters are assumed as per the previous literature. It is observed that the factor of safety obtained from the numerical analysis (SLOPE/W) satisfies the requirements and the design criteria of being safe for solid waste disposal and its operation.