Municipalities Coalition Considers Waste Plan 'Triumph', Says PSP to Follow Up Naameh Landfill Closure

The coalition of municipalities concerned with the closure of the controversial Naameh landfill, which lies in the Shouf district south of Beirut, on January 17 considered on Saturday the “huge accomplishment” regarding the matter is a triumph, slamming all planned protests.

“The Progressive Socialist Party will follow up the process of the closure of the Naameh landfill and will remain ready for any escalation and endeavor in case the state violated its pledges,” the coalition of the municipalities of al-Gharb al-Aala and Shahar said in a statement.

The coalition stressed that the PSP deems any escalation after the government decision as “useless and harmful as it affects the interests of all the residents.”

“We don't live on an isolated island but under the authority of a state that runs and manages our affairs and with a cabinet that represents all the country's political and social sides,” the statement added.

It pointed out that “reaching a solution regarding the Naameh landfill is within a comprehensive plan to treat waste in Lebanon, which is acceptable by all parties.”

“The technical extension of the landfill's work for several months in order to avoid a new crisis in the country.”

The cabinet's decision to delay the closure of the landfill for three months drew the ire of the residents of Naameh, who vowed to escalate their endeavors.

The government approved the controversial decision after a long-heated debate for several months regarding the country's plan to treat solid waste.

The deadline for the end of the dump's operations expires on Saturday.

The residents of Naameh later in the day held a sit-in near the landfill to protest the decision of extension, threatening to challenge it before the Shura Council.

The cabinet has also agreed to extend for the same period two other contracts that also expire on Saturday.

One contract is with Sukleen, which is responsible for collecting and transporting the garbage in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. The other is with Sukomi company that treats the waste transferred to the Burj Hammoud dump by Sukleen and takes them to Naameh.

The new plan, which 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.

The government also agreed that contractors who win tenders would find the locations of landfills. If they fail to do so within a month, then the environment ministry and the CDR would secure them on condition that the contractors bear the cost.