Warnings escalated in Akkar Governorate regarding the crisis of the Sarar landfill and waste factory, as the heads of the governorate’s municipal unions declared their categorical rejection of the continuation of the current environmental reality, adhering to preventing the entry of any waste from outside the governorate’s borders, in conjunction with the decision of the municipalities neighboring the landfill to ban the receipt of waste as of September 26, 2026.
This position came as a result of an expanded meeting held by the heads of municipal unions with the mayors of the villages and towns surrounding the Sarar landfill and plant, during which popular and municipal concerns and demands were heard, in light of the huge environmental, health, agricultural, and development burdens that these areas have incurred over the years as a result of receiving huge quantities of waste. The attendees expressed their full solidarity with the people of those villages, stressing that the state is now required to intervene immediately to shoulder its responsibilities and put a radical end to the crisis.
The heads of the unions stressed that “Akkar is not a dumping ground for the waste of other regions,” categorically refusing to import or bury any waste from outside the governorate, and stressing that any treatment of this issue must take place within a system that protects the rights of Akkar, its municipalities, and its people, away from the policy of transferring the problem from one Akkar region to another.
Regarding the decision issued by the municipalities neighboring the Sarar landfill to prevent the entry of waste as of September 26, 2026, they showed full understanding of the justifications for this position in appreciation of the extent of the suffering that led them to it, stressing their commitment to following up on the demands of these villages with various official authorities.
The attendees sent an urgent appeal to the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior and Municipalities, the Minister of the Environment, and all other concerned authorities, to intervene quickly with the aim of rehabilitating the waste sorting and treatment plant in Sarar and operating it as soon as possible, and to repair the landfill’s condition in accordance with the approved environmental, health and legal standards.
They also called for the necessity of maintaining and rehabilitating the roads surrounding the landfill and the sorting plant, which were severely damaged by the movement of heavy trucks, and implementing urgent development, service, and environmental projects in the host villages and towns commensurate with the amount of sacrifices and burdens they bore, in addition to addressing the environmental, agricultural, and health damage and providing justice to those affected.
The heads of Akkar’s municipal unions concluded their position by emphasizing that the desired solution lies in finding sustainable management for which the state bears responsibility, summarizing their approach by saying: “We want Akkar to be a solution to waste, not Akkar to be a solution to other people’s waste,” while directing a call for justice for the villages of Sarar and its neighboring towns and securing the elements for development and treatment, without this turning into a new tragedy affecting all the people of the governorate.
