• 1 Ecole Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique de Yaoundé
• 2 ERA, Yaoundé, Cameroun
• 3 Université libre de Bruxelles

The purpose of this study is to measure the primary and secondary settlement of solid waste in landfills in humid tropical climates. A cell of 120 m3 was filled in four layers of 1 m on a volume of 96 m3 of household waste (38.4 tons of waste). And the interface of each layer, we have arranged two plates connected to a graduated metal bar. The device made it possible to directly read the settlements suffered by each layer of waste during storage. The desserts are then compacted and used for hydration (mass volume of 0.42 tones/m3). During filling, 14 % of column of waste varies depending on the layers of the waste.Primary compressing is obtained 5 days after closing of the cell. It is estimated at 13 % of the column of waste after instantaneous compressing and also varies according to the position of the layer. The deepest layer having compressing more raised, and the surface layer, the weakest compressing.After 7.5 months of storage, we recorded a beginning of secondary settlement which is estimated at 6.4 % of the consolidated waste column. At the end of 2 years and 1 month, we obtained a final secondary settlement of 15.14 %. The total relative compressing of the waste column is 27.5 % and remains stable after 2 years. For the experimental cell we put in place, this corresponds to an overall compressing of 104 cm.The determination of the primary and secondary compressing of waste in landfill makes possible to evaluate additional volumes being able to be exploited, and to envisage with more precision the duration of exploitation a rack or of the landfill during the feasibility studies.