Bassil Calls for Decentralization, Reopening of Naameh Landfill

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil said on Friday that it was time to have decentralization in waste management after a plan to export Lebanon's garbage failed.

“The export of waste is the worst solution,” said Bassil at a press conference he held at the Bustros Palace.

“No country in the world resolves its waste problem through export,” he said.

“It's time for decentralization in a waste management plan. We should encourage municipalities to find solutions,” the foreign minister, who is the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, told reporters.

Bassil called for the establishment of landfills to resolve the waste crisis away from sectarian shares.

“All sides have admitted that the Naameh landfill can still operate while providing the town's residents with their rights,” he said.

The garbage crisis erupted in July last year when the landfill in the town of Naameh south of Beirut was closed.

Trash began piling up on the streets, and garbage was dumped in makeshift landfills, including river banks, valleys and under bridges.

When a plan to decentralize waste management failed last year, the government approved a scheme to export the garbage.

But it was revealed earlier this week that the company, which was tasked by the government to manage the export plan, may have fabricated its permits.

An ultimatum given to Britain’s Chinook Urban Mining company by the cabinet to produce the necessary permits expired at 10 am Friday.

The Council for Development and Reconstruction said Chinook was not able to provide it with the necessary documents that prove it has received the permits from Russia, the importing nation.

The cabinet already decided at a session it held on Thursday to abandon the export scheme.

“There should be a political decision to stop benefiting from the trash” file, said Bassil, hinting about rampant corruption.

The foreign minister also called for decision by the authorities to deal with the issue “fairly.”

There should be scientific studies on where the landfills should be located, he said.

G.K.

D.A.