Stabilization of Old MSW Landfills Using Reinforced Soil

Abstract

Old municipal solid waste (MSW) unengineered dumps, which have reached considerable height, have sloping sides with inadequate stability. The traditional technique of flattening the slope has to overcome the twin challenges of high cost of moving an enormous volume of waste and availability of area for placing the excavated material. In this study, an attempt has been made to strengthen the slopes of old MSW landfills for heights of 40 m, resting on firm base, by stabilizing them with reinforced soil, placed along the length of the slope and its width restricted to 10 m. Slope stability computations, using limit equilibrium methods, have been made for the original waste slope and that strengthened by the reinforced soil by varying soil strength and geometric properties. The study reveals that the waste slope, stabilized by the use of reinforced soil, can provide a feasible alternative to the removal of large quantity of excess waste.