The Threatening Effects of Open Dumping on Soil at Waste Disposal Sites of Akure City, Nigeria

This study examines the influence of uncontrolled deposition of MSW disposal on soil in four selected dumpsites across Akure City, Nigeria. Physicochemical and microbial tests were carried out using standard procedure. Soil samples were randomly collected using soil auger from the major (Igbatoro and Iju-Itaogbolu), and the minor (Ijare and FUTA) dumpsites, at depths (0-10, 10-20, 20-30 cm), with control samples taken at a distance 20 m away from each dumpsite. The physicochemical parameters measured include pH, total organic matter, total organic carbon and particle size distribution. The results showed that samples were predominantly acidic (4.12 to 6.73), sandy (32.69 to 65.40) with values ranging from 0.17 to 4.14 and 0.02 to 3.15 for organic matter and organic carbon respectively. The mean values for both aerobic bacterial counts and heterotrophic fungal counts from control to the dumpsites ranged from 188 × 106 to 258 × 106 cfu/mL, and 128 × 106 to 193 × 106 cfu/mL, respectively. Although there exists some positive impacts of dumpings on soil, their adverse effects are life threatening.