Protesters on Sunday briefly blocked the vital Sidon-Beirut highway in the Naameh area over unconfirmed reports suggesting that the controversial Naameh garbage landfill will be reopened.

Army troops and security forces managed to reopen the road after negotiations with the demonstrators.

Protesters had earlier gathered outside the closed landfill to protest the reopening reports.

The landfill’s closure in 2015 had sparked an unprecedented garbage collection crisis in the country which soon spiraled into violent street protests.

Protesters and environmentalists have repeatedly called for eco-friendly solutions that do not involve incinerators and landfills.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/265556-sidon-beirut-highway-blocked-over-naameh-landfill-reopening-reports
—————————

Jreissati Replies to Criticism over Trash Sorting Plants
by Naharnet Newsdesk 10 October 2019, 07:21

Environment Minister Fadi Jreissati on Thursday responded to criticism after telling citizens not to complain if they do not embark on sorting waste at home.

“Sorting from source has become a law according to law 80 and is enshrined by decree 5605/2019 like the traffic law,” said Jreissati in a televised press conference.

The Minister stressed that sorting garbage at home is the first step towards a comprehensive solution to tackle Lebanon’s long standing trash management problem.

He assured that the entire Lebanese regions now have waste sorting plants unlike criticisms claiming otherwise.

“It is not true that the state is not working. For the last four months, we have been training municipalities to sort at source,” he stressed.

Encouraging Lebanese citizens to put their efforts with the State’s, he said: “It serves first and foremost the health and pocket of every Lebanese citizen.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/265428-jreissati-replies-to-criticism-over-trash-sorting-plants