## 1 Introduction  
Rapid global population growth and its associated anthropogenic pressure have been identified as a contributing factor to illegal dumping, which poses a serious threat to human health and natural ecosystems [1]. Toxic substances leaching from dump sites down the soil profile can cause significant degradation of the environment, threatening the taxonomic and functional diversity of soil microorganisms. From the standpoint of environmental protection and human ecology, it is critical to determine the impact of unregulated or illegal waste dumping on the soil physicochemical properties as well as on its microbial taxonomic and functional diversity [2, 3]. According to [PERSON] et al. [4], prolonged soil pollution can affect its health directly by altering its physicochemical properties and indirectly by altering its microbial diversity and function, resulting in the alteration of its ecological function. Furthermore, pollution-induced changes in soil composition could lead to a decrease in soil fertility [5; 6]. Despite the loss of soil microbial diversity due to organic pollutants, pollution-tolerant microbes tend to flourish due to their metabolic plasticity, potentially resulting in the establishment of new microbial communities [7; 8; 9]. However, [PERSON] et al. [10] reported a lack of research on the microbial response in relation to inorganic and organic pollutants as well as the relationship between soil microbial communities and biotic/abiotic activities that influence their activities. Furthermore, soil microbes and their metabolic processes in a polluted environment can be better understood by investigating the interactions between soil microbes and soil components [11; 12]. It has been suggested that the use of high-throughput sequencing, which reveals uncultivable microbes, can be used to compare the microbial ecology and taxonomic diversity of various soils with different types and levels of pollution [13]. This sequencing approach may be critical in identifying specific microbial biomarkers that can be used as pollution indicators as well as biotechnological applications in the development of bioremediation strategies. [PERSON] et al. [14] investigated the effects of pollutants on the diversity of microbes in relation to a multitude of other factors influencing the microbial response to various pollutants. For instance, _Proteobacteria_ populations are abundant in the most hydrocarbon-polluted soil as well as coastal sediments and gold and uranium mines [15; 16; 17; 18; 19]. [PERSON] et al. [20] reported three oil-pollutant resistant genera: _Marinobacterium_, _Marinobacter_, and _Cyclaclasticus_, and the genus _Haliea_ as biomarkers in oil-polluted mangrove forest soils. Furthermore, [PERSON] et al. [21] also reported that both members of the class _Gammaproteobacteria_ and _Deltaproteobacteria_ dominated chronic polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-polluted coastal sediments. A recent study from [PERSON] et al. [22] also depicted the dominance of the phylum _Proteobacteria_ and genes involved in biomolecule metabolism, aromatic compound degradation, stress tolerance, and xenobiotic biodegradation in municipal landfill soils. Furthermore, the author also proposed that microbial communities in landfill settings are far more complex than expected. Collectively, these studies provide evidence that pollution has a significant impact on the composition of soil microbial communities under different environments. However, the overarching pattern of change in microbial composition caused by pollution linked to anthropogenic activities such as the illegal dumping of wastes has not yet been fully explored. A wide range of metabolites, from carbohydrates to proteins and lipids, are produced and consumed by microbes living in the complex environment. This results in a diverse microbial community, with cross feeding microorganisms able to take advantage of all available niches [23].