Lebanon Awaits International Deals to Export Wastes

W460

The ministerial committee tasked with finding a solution for the over two-week waste management crisis in Beirut and Mount Lebanon has failed so far to find an alternative for the Naameh landfill that reached its maximum capacity and was closed on July 17, pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Saturday.

The crisis is aggravating and the Lebanese regions refuse to receive wastes from outside their areas. In the absence of solutions, citizens and some municipalities are either burning or throwing the trash in forests threatening an explosion of a major environmental crisis, the daily added.

Sources to Prime Minister Tammam Salam told al-Joumhouria daily: “the three options that were put forward were thwarted. Landfilling the waste in Naameh, Bourj Hammud or Sibline were turned down. Similarly they were rejected in stone crushing sites that lie at an altitude above 1,000 meters because that would contaminate the groundwater.

“Efforts to create waste incinerators is time consuming because it needs no less than three month to build while the crisis needs a quick solution.”

Meanwhile Lebanon awaits international offer that allow it to export the waste abroad in light of a German offer that welcomed the idea.

Reports have said that Germany has welcomed the idea of exporting and that a meeting between Economy Minister Alain Hakim and the German ambassador could be promising.

After talks with German ambassador on Friday Hakim said that the Ambassador welcomed the idea and that they agreed on preparing a study to put the solution on track.

Germany has welcomed the idea expecting each ton of exported trash to cost Beirut. between $70 and $100.

Later during the day, Hakim held a meeting with Salam and discussions focused on the possibility of exporting trash to a European country like Germany or Sweden.

They also discussed the offers put forward by relevant companies in that regard.

The collection restarted early this week after a temporary deal was found to begin taking trash to several landfills in undisclosed locations.

But the deal led to protests in several areas, where residents refused to accept the waste of Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

Protesters have blocked roads in Jiyeh to stop trucks from transporting garbage to Iqlim al-Kharroub and in Dahr al-Baydar, where the residents of Ain Dara have warned against dumping waste in the area's old stone crushing plants.

Comments 11
Missing humble 01 August 2015, 09:54

Export to Syria...trash on trash...

Missing phillipo 01 August 2015, 09:56

It's already happening, its called Hizballah.

Missing helicopter 01 August 2015, 23:18

Wrong, HA is imported trash

Thumb _mowaten_ 02 August 2015, 02:54

the only trash here is you zionist shills polluting our forums with your dodgy propaganda and hate mongering.

Thumb -phoenix1 02 August 2015, 15:46

Mowaten, you're talking in the full knowledge that the only trolls polluting this forum are M8 people and very very few M14 ones. The situation is so abject that your name has been floated repeatedly as someone creating much of these M8 trolls, maybe you'd need to do an in-depth soul searching if it didn't occur to you yet.

Thumb _mowaten_ 02 August 2015, 23:55

you can "flot" whatever you want, most the trolling is against us.

Thumb kanaandian 01 August 2015, 15:32

and turkey. trash will find its way to its natural home.

Missing helicopter 01 August 2015, 23:18

You need BAsil to hire two Turkish vessels so he can line his pockets with few more millions.

Missing ghzayel 01 August 2015, 10:30

Please Mr. Prime Minister and for God's sake do something, yesterday was better then today and today is surely better than tomorrow. Take this garbage out and quickly be it to Germany or to darrab al sokhn but don't wait too long and ruin what is left of what could have been a promising summer for the tourism for the economy and for the majority of the people in lebanon who is already in dire straits.

Missing helicopter 02 August 2015, 06:40

Use it to demarccate the border to make it less pleasant to both ISIS and HA as well as all smugglers. If they do not die from Jihadi bullets (both side Jihadis) then they die from diseases.

Thumb fadi_albeiruti 02 August 2015, 08:43

Dump it in Dahieh, what's a little more trash to the existing garbage there can hurt?