The Ministry of Environment, in the presence of Minister Dr. Tamara El-Zein, delivered new equipment to a number of solid waste management facilities in Jeb Jannine, Zahle and Baalbek, including sorting plants and landfills, in a step aimed at enhancing the capabilities of these facilities and supporting the path of sustainable solid waste management.
This step comes within the “Tadwir” project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which aims to support the capabilities of the municipalities and facilities concerned, and improve waste collection, transportation and treatment services.
During her tour of the facilities and her meeting with the mayors, Minister Al-Zein confirmed that the work is taking place “in a race against time, scarcity of funding, and the accumulation of root problems,” with the aim of avoiding waste crises in various regions, and putting this file on the path to sustainable solutions after the completion of basic reforms.
She stressed that the new equipment “does not constitute a single solution to the waste crisis,” but it contributes to enhancing the ability of facilities and municipalities to carry out their tasks, especially in light of the decline in the operational capacity of a number of facilities as a result of successive crises over the past years, which was reflected in the level of performance and effectiveness.
Al-Zein explained that developing the waste management sector requires working on several paths, most notably improving the performance of sorting plants, enhancing sorting from the source, developing landfill operations and restricting them to exhaust, in addition to enabling municipalities to benefit from the new laws to enhance their independence in managing collection and transportation operations.
She also pointed out the importance of cooperating with the National Solid Waste Management Authority to develop alternative solutions for facilities that have exhausted their capacity, and strengthening local control over the entities operating the facilities to ensure the efficiency of sorting and treatment operations, and reducing the risks of fires in landfills, whether resulting from an operational defect or intentional actions.
In Jeb Jenin, Al-Zein confirmed work to secure the necessary funding from the World Bank to establish a new landfill, after the current landfill reached its capacity, and its closure and rehabilitation became an urgent need.
As for Zahle, during her tour inside the sorting facility, the Minister was briefed on the work carried out within the project, especially the development of the sorting plant and adding a line to produce alternative fuel from waste, in addition to the municipality’s plan to enhance sorting from the source.
It also followed up on the file of the chemicals that were transferred to the facility campuses, confirming the Ministry’s request from the Electricité du Liban to recover these materials, in light of the municipality’s refusal to bury them even after they were treated, and working to find an alternative solution in accordance with the approved laws and regulations.
In Baalbek, Al-Zein visited the sorting plant and the landfill and observed the ignition in one of the landfill cells, confirming once again that the file had been referred to the Environmental Public Prosecutor to investigate its circumstances, in parallel with initiating the technical solution related to the discharge of gases, based on the technical inspection report recently prepared by the Ministry of the Environment.
The distribution of this equipment comes within a broader plan that aims to raise the efficiency of waste management facilities, strengthen the role of municipalities, and improve sorting from the source, leading to a more sustainable system that limits the quantities of waste sent to landfills and reduces its environmental impacts.
