NAAMEH, Lebanon: The local government and residents of Naameh and surrounding municipalities were outraged Tuesday following Cabinet’s decision to delay the closure of the landfill by three months. “Extending the landfill beyond the 17th of this month will not be allowed, and we have begun preparations for a huge protest at the landfill’s doors,” former Naameh Mayor Khalil Matar told Voice of Lebanon 100.3. “We will not back down.”
The current mayor of Naameh, Amin Fakhreddine, held an emergency meeting with the union of the municipalities of Al-Gharb al-Aala and Chahar as well as other concerned parties on how to respond to the Cabinet’s decision.
“We discussed the reasons and implications of the mysterious decision that was taken [Monday] night by the Cabinet,” Fakhreddine said after the meeting.
“We are committed to closing the Naameh landfill on Jan. 17.”
He added that they would be meeting with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk and several other ministers Wednesday to discuss their next actions.
Several residents blasted the PSP, which has strong influence in the region, for agreeing to the deal after promising last year that the landfill would not remain open beyond Jan. 17, 2015.
Residents of Aramoun, where the Naameh landfill is located, mocked a PSP banner from last year’s protest that read, ‘No bargaining on the closing date of the Naameh landfill on Jan. 17, 2015.’
“Garbage will still be thrown here as long as Lebanon remains run by warlords and leaders of sects,” lamented resident Khalil Khoury.
After prolonged discussions over several months, Cabinet Monday finally passed the Environment Ministry’s national plan for the treatment of solid waste.
The plan aims to decentralize Lebanon’s waste management and divide it into six blocks: Beirut and its suburbs; the north and Akkar; the south and Nabatieh; the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek-Hermel; Baabda, Chouf, Aley and Jbeil; Metn and Kesrouan.
The Naameh landfill was originally supposed to be closed on Jan. 17 but under the new plan the deadline has been extended by three months and could be pushed back by another three if no alternative is found.
Residents blocked the landfill in protest last year and demanded the government shut it down, leaving the city of Beirut overflowing with waste. Protests were dismantled when Jumblatt convinced protesters that the landfill would be closed no later than Jan. 17, 2015.
Residents were upset by the decision and believed securing an alternative site could be a lengthy process.
“We are aware that the landfill will not be closed in the time set,” local resident Mohammad Fak told The Daily Star. “We will have to wait for the construction of factories for sorting waste which is years and years from now and everybody has to be held responsible.”
The Kataeb Party was initially the main opponent to the Environment Ministry’s proposed plan. Its point of contention was not the closing date of the Naameh landfill, but rather the manner in which the tender for firms to bid on the waste management contracts had been drafted.
The ministers feared that – in their original form – the tenders would stifle competition, place too much control in the company’s hands, and subject the contracts to influence from specific party leaders.
After intense discussions, their problems were seemingly addressed as the Kataeb Party leader Amine Gemmayel hailed the proposal in its amended form, paving the way for the bill to pass in the Cabinet.
“There was a specialized committee from the party’s political bureau that cooperated with civil society to give all suggestions,” Gemayel said at a news conference Monday. “We made great achievements in this concern that ensure the highest possible extent of competition between different companies.”
Sources close to the talks say that the Environment Ministry is planning to divert the waste being taken to the Naameh landfill to another location – either another landfill or an incineration plant – but a new location has yet to be decided upon.
A month ago, residents of Barja in the mountainous Chouf area protested a proposal to set up a new landfill there to replace Naameh.
The Naameh landfill was originally opened in 1997 to serve the Beirut and Mount Lebanon region. It was intended to close after six years but remains open 17 years later. The landfill now receives 2,850 tons of waste a day, five times its intended capacity.
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