It seems that Lebanon will not take a rest from the garbage crisis soon. Just when we thought that the trash is only choking Lebanon, the garbage crisis is slowly infecting the Mediterranean Sea. The garbage mountain in Bourj Hammoud is growing through land reclamation since the waste is planned to be disposed of at sea. This time, the trash is not negatively impacting the streets only. In a post shared by
Lebanon Eco Movement
on Facebook, it is mentioned that people visiting City Mall in Dora are complaining that there is an odor inside the mall. The
also posted a video that shows the daily struggle that fishermen have to deal with: there is trash in the sea, and most of the fish are dead. This means that if the garbage crisis persists, these breadwinners will be out of their jobs soon. The toxic wastes that are dumped in the sea will take up the oxygen from the water, resulting in the death of the maritime life.
What does the Minister of the Environment have to say?
The Minister of the Environment Tarek Khatib said that his ministry is fulfilling its duties. However, he added that the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) has signed a contract to dispose of the trash at sea while being warned by the Ministry of the negative impact that this action has on the environment. The Former Minister of the Environment Akram Chehayeb is not pleased with the current garbage situation. He had previously set policies that would solve the whole issue quickly. Chehayeb claims that we can establish a landfill site outside of Beirut in 7 months. He likes Hariri’s solution which consists of waste-to-energy incinerators, however, it requires 4 years of implementation. Chehayeb believes that the country needs a faster approach. Overall, he is pessimistic since waste management policies are not being taken seriously.