Lebanon’s ongoing waste crisis has peaked in the wake of a brutal Israeli military occupation during the early 90s, when garbage collection ceased and dump sites quickly amassed, causing social and economic upheaval. It’s problem – and one that is far from over – is its copious amount of untreated trash piles that have nowhere to go.
According to HRW (Human Rights Watch), this is the result of a failing infrastructure and poses threats to, not only Lebanese citizens, but commercial enterprise as well – a majority of them learning to live daily life with rat infestation, pollution, and an almost irreversible problem that’s in threat of gaining steady momentum unless something is done to fix this hazardous problem.
Trash is piling up in the middle east [@AlMonitor]
With over 900 dump piles and landfills in Lebanon – many of which practice open burning, subsequently discharging pollutants such as mercury, acid, and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – government funding can’t meet basic needs for sanitary disposal. And as a result, these sites grow to excess, towering high beyond any limit thought humanely reasonable.
In winter, winds blow their peaks to the ocean and plastic waste gets washed to the infamous Beirut shoreline. In summer, the mucky stench they leave plays an overbearing role, crippling economic revenue by driving visitors and tourists away from, what were once thought of as, beautiful sightseer attractions and golden sand beaches.
You Stink protesters taking to the streets in 2015 [@ZeeNews]
Protesters and activists, from as far back as 2015, lay blame on a sectarian government and the rise of neoliberal profiteers. The 2015 anti-government movement “You Stink” saw thousands upon thousands of disillusioned citizens take to the steps of parliament in the hope that their message would reach relevant ministries.
While this put a dent in the issue at hand, the problem persists. It’s 2018: privatisation, government corruption, and competitive contractors run rampant according to a growing number of environmentally concerned citizens, but tides seem to be changing.
Health awareness is expanding with a government that’s managed to clean much of Beirut’s streets by expanding an already extreme number of landfill sites. However, many have stated that this is not enough, nor is it a permanent solution, and are rallying to achieve more in the long term.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri leading the charge toward a more sustainable future in Lebanon
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri leads the march as a resulting backlash from this accumulative resistance strives for change and a cleaner future. Hearkening back to a time when vile stenches didn’t waft under doorways, citizens are forming groups along beaches in the Kaserwan district and doing what they can to better the situation. Further, environment Minister Tarek Khatib has taken steps to begin closing dump sites and is aiming to build a more stable recycling program for the masses.
Sources state that a staggering 90% of the waste in Lebanon is made up of recyclable plastic, so the positive effect a program like this would have on Lebanese life, its citizens and their environment is, without a doubt, a driving factor in its proposal.
However, with Lebanon’s upcoming general election, this development becomes a political football, and it goes without saying that the longer this health crisis remains unaddressed, the worse off Lebanese citizens and their economy will be. One can only hope that the lives and health of Lebanon’s polis provides more than enough cause for major change toward a sustainable future.
