Laboratory Testing of Municipal Solid Waste

The evaluation of static and dynamic properties of MSW is a prerequisite for the performance of any type of meaningful landfill stability calculations, but also in many aspects of landfill design, operation and post-closure development. Field testing techniques can provide valuable data on the in-situ behavior of MSW properties under the specific conditions of the testing configuration. However, the constitutive behavior of MSW can only be studied in depth by systematic laboratory testing under carefully controlled confining stresses, and composition of waste samples. Although the collection of undisturbed samples of waste remains essentially impossible, sample disturbance may not be a major issue in laboratory testing of MSW due to the lack of "geologic history". On the other hand, the preparation of MSW samples in the laboratory, with conditions duplicating the field deposition and compaction, involves many critical issues that need to be carefully addressed. Presently, no standards or guidelines exist on the performance and documentation of laboratory testing of MSW and as a consequence different approaches are used. In some cases, complete documentation on various aspects of the testing is not presented limiting the value of the presented test results. The intention of this chapter is to examine these critical issues and provide some systematic guidance on laboratory testing of Municipal Solid Waste.