Impact of Landfill Proximity on Soil Quality: A Comparative Study of Dumping and Non-Dumping Sites Near Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttarakhand

The present study aims to analyze changes in the physicochemical parameters of the soil in the vicinity of a small municipal solid waste landfill site. The research results were analyzed based on general physicochemical properties, which include pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) by using standard methods. The results show that the soil from the dump sites contained higher amounts of soil properties (EC, SOC, N, P, K) than the non-dumping sites. Pearson correlation shows that pH exhibits a robust negative correlation with all other parameters while the remaining other parameters had a positive correlation with each other. Also, PCA analysis shows dumping sites mostly depict positive values in PC1, whereas the non-dumping sites indicate negative values. The final interpretation indicates that the soil in the dump site was found suitable for plant growth. However, due to improper solid waste management, this nutrient-rich soil could be mixed up with several other contaminants, such as soluble salts, plastics, heavy metals, and so on. This could make the soil unhealthy or unsuitable for plant growth. The study also suggests proper segregation, recovery, treatment, and safe disposal of solid waste and formulates an integrated municipal solid waste management plan for this particular dumping site.