Democratic Gathering, Residents Reject Any Extension of Naameh Landfill Deadline

The Democratic Gathering bloc led by MP Walid Jumblat stressed Wednesday its rejection of any extension of a deadline to shut down the controversial landfill in the Naameh area, underlining that the Chouf, Iqlim al-Kharroub and Aley regions “will no longer be a garbage dumpster.”

“The Democratic Gathering declares its rejection of any extension of the deadline to close the Naameh landfill, after the previous timeframe announced by the government passed without any commitment or measure to shut down the landfill and put an end to the health and environmental hazards,” it said in a statement.

The bloc lamented that “the previous period was rife with procrastination, manipulation and commercial profit considerations at the expense of this region, contrary to the pledge that was given to address the issue.”

“July 17 will be the final date for the closure of the landfill and any extension will not be accepted. The responsibility for the repercussions does not fall on the region and its residents, but rather on the policy of procrastination and indecisiveness that was endorsed throughout the past months,” Democratic Gathering added.

The Mount Lebanon regions of “Chouf, Iqlim al-Kharroub and Aley have been sharing the burden and the responsibility since 1998 and will no longer be a garbage dumpster or an arena for financial calculations,” the bloc emphasized.

It also accused “some firms that submitted their offers in the eleventh hour” of seeking “commercial gains at the expense of the region.”

Later on Wednesday, the so-called Aramoun Residents Gathering declared that July 17 “will be a historic day.”

“We are ready to escalate our moves if the government does not implement its decision on closing the Naameh landfill,” it warned.

Meanwhile, LBCI television reported that “the premiership has informed the Council for Development and Reconstruction of its approval of maintaining operations at the Naameh landfill to avoid garbage accumulation, pending the approval of new tenders.”

The crisis started looming after environmentalists warned this week that they would stop trucks from hauling waste at the landfill starting Friday, which coincides with Eid al-Fitr.

The landfill that lies in the town of Naameh south of Beirut is scheduled to be closed in accordance with a government decision.

The July 17 deadline for the closure of the landfill also coincides with the expiry of the contract with Sukleen, which is responsible for collecting and transporting the garbage in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

In January, the cabinet decided to delay the closure of the landfill, drawing the ire of the residents of Naameh and environmentalists.

It approved the controversial decision after a long-heated debate regarding the country's plan to treat solid waste.

But the spokesman of the grouping that is campaigning against the landfill, Ajwad al-Ayyash, told An Nahar daily published on Monday that environmentalists “will not allow a single kilogram of waste to enter Naameh after July 17.”

He said there were reports that Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq has recently met with the municipal chiefs of towns near Naameh and proposed that they accept to dump only 600 tons of waste daily and distribute the rest to other landfills.

But al-Ayyash accused them of violating the law. “We will only accept the implementation of the (government's) decision,” he said.

The plan devised by Environment Minister al-Mashnouq decentralizes the management of solid waste, divides Lebanon into six blocks and limits the licensing of garbage collection to one contractor in maximum two blocks.

When the government approved the plan, it also decided that contractors who win tenders would find the location of landfills.

But an informed source told An Nahar last month that the authorities have failed to find a solution to the plan after only three contractors made proposals for the treatment of waste in the districts of Jbeil, Keserouan and Metn and no party made a bid for Beirut.

The bidding process failed because the plan calls for having at least three bidders in each area, the source said.

Y.R.