Garbage Floods Beirut Streets as Naameh Landfill Remains Closed despite Salam-Mediated Deal

The road leading to the Naameh garbage landfill remained blocked on Sunday evening, although a settlement was reached between Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam and the follow-up committee to reopen the landfill for 48 hours.

The landfill's closure has forced the Sukleen company to suspend the collection of waste in Beirut and its suburbs, the thing that has created piles of garbage in the streets.

"The sit-in outside the landfill remains open-ended," state-run National News Agency quoted the protesters as saying.

"The protest will continue until a solution is found to this dangerous and lethal environmental problem in the region," protesters said.

LBCI TV reported earlier that "residents and some members of the follow-up committee of the Naameh landfill rejected the settlement reached during the meeting with Salam.”

The delegation that met with Salam comprised representatives of municipalities in the region, the Lebanon Eco Movement and environmentalist activists. They briefed the PM-designate on “the health risks posed by the Naameh landfill and suggested a number of solutions,” NNA said.

“They urged the PM-designate to include the problem of the landfill and their demands in the ministerial policy statement of the new cabinet,” NNA said.

After the meeting, Lebanon Eco Movement member Walid al-Qadi announced in the name of the delegation that an agreement was reached with Salam to reopen the road for 48 hours and allow the passage of Sukleen trucks while keeping tents erected outside the landfill's entrance.

The move aims to give Salam a chance to find a “drastic solution aimed at closing the Naameh landfill through the efforts of the relevant officials and ministries,” al-Qadi noted.

For his part, Salam held a series of contacts during the meeting with a number of officials and explained to them the demands of the municipalities, NNA said.

He reassured the delegation that he would create an emergency committee to address the issue once he forms the new cabinet.

The streets of Beirut and its suburbs were littered with piles of garbage on Saturday and Sunday due to Sukleen's decision to suspend waste collection.

“People's sit-in near the Naameh landfill and the blocking of the road in front of the company’s trucks for the second day in a row led to the piling up of garbage,” a statement released by Sukleen explained.

The statement noted that the Council for Development and Reconstruction and other relevant authorities were looking into alternative solutions to the problem, pointing out that finding a new landfill was “the Lebanese state's responsibility, not the company's.”

The statement assured, however, that street sweepers would continue cleaning streets and that pesticides would be sprayed.

“We urge people to cooperate with us through making sure waste bags are sealed tightly before placing them in garbage containers,” the statement said.

Sukleen is the only company tasked with collecting garbage in the governorates of Beirut and Mount Lebanon.