Judge Orders Costa Brava Dump Shut After Birds Threaten Flights

Mount Lebanon Urgent Matters Judge Hassan Hamdan, issued a decision on Thursday notifying Jihad al-Arab's company, operating the Costa Brava landfill in Khaldeh area, to abide by an earlier decision for the temporary closure of the dump, until a solution for the birds threatening flights at the Rafik Hariri Airport is found.

The judge has ordered the temporary closure of the rubbish dump near Beirut airport after warnings that birds attracted by the garbage were threatening aircraft safety, a lawyer said.

"There is a court decision... to close the doors and prevent the entry of any trucks," said Hani al-Ahmadiya, a lawyer and campaigner against the Costa Brava dump.

On Wednesday, Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos acknowledged the problem posed by the increasing numbers of birds at the refuse tip.

"Today we face an emergency... we recognize that there is a danger posed to civil aviation movement by the birds," he said after a meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The first measure to counter the threat began Thursday, and Fenianos announced installing additional devices emitting high-pitched frequencies and bird of prey calls to scare away the nuisance birds.

Costa Brava was opened in March last year as one of three "temporary" tips intended to provide an interim solution after the closure of the main landfill receiving waste from Beirut.

The dumps were eventually intended to have waste processing facilities, but that has not happened.

As a result, garbage has piled up in Costa Brava, on the coastline close to the airport runways, reaching nine metres (30 feet) in some places.

Environmentalists have for months warned that the dump is attracting rodents and increasing numbers of birds.

In August, the Lebanese pilots' union warned of the possibility of the birds being sucked into airplane engines.

Speaking from outside the dump on Thursday, Ahmadiya confirmed that the site was closed to new refuse.

"The decision is only temporary." he said. "It will be up to the judge whether to extend or rescind it."

A permanent solution for the waste produced by Beirut and its surroundings has yet to be found, months after the Naameh landfill was shuttered and garbage began piling up on the capital's streets.

The issue is one of many outstanding challenges for Lebanon's new government, which was formed on December 18 after two years of political deadlock.