Quantification of Municipal Solid Waste and Effect of Open Dumping on Soil in Smart City Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

The solid waste generation rate is increased with an increment in population in developing countries. The waste production rate is to a larger extent in big cities than in countryside areas because of high living standard of people over there. In this context, solid waste management is one of the most important features of India’s solid waste management. But the main issue is disposal of waste in most of India’s states. Hence, solid waste management is one of the major aspects of today’s issues that need to be considered. The existing paper compiled the physical and chemical quantification of municipal solid waste in the smart city of Himachal Pradesh, i.e. Dharamshala so that necessary steps can be incorporated based on the nature of waste. The quantification of the waste revealed that the municipal solid waste is rich in organic waste and after that, the second highest fraction is of paper waste. The soil properties affected by the open dumping have also been analyzed. The soil samples were collected from trial pits within the dumpsite at depths of 1.5 m. The soil samples hence collected have been subjected to various geotechnical analyses. The geotechnical analysis of soil revealed that the dumpsite soil of study regions displayed decreasing trend in the values of maximum dry density, cohesion, CBR as compared to the natural soil. This is clearly indicated that geotechnical properties of the soil in study location has become vulnerable due to contamination.