Lebanon’s Waste Management Issue - Pollution is entering its Ocean

With the worsening of the pollution problem in Lebanon, it isn’t just affecting the state of the nation: it’s also affecting the Mediterranean Sea’s health. Considering that all water systems around the world are connected and collectively cover more than two-thirds of the globe’s surface area, this waste management issue has become even more serious than before.

The pile of waste, located in Bourj Hammoud, is getting increasingly bigger, and current plans have this waste ending up in the ocean. This strategy is having a far greater impact on the area than keeping the waste on land has. Customers visiting a nearby shopping centre, City Mall, have reportedly been experiencing unpleasant smells from the garbage while inside the building.

Not only are consumers beginning to encounter the resulting issues of dumping waste into the Mediterranean Sea, but fishermen have also taken a blow. The ocean’s waters are full of garbage, and this garbage has managed to kill millions of fish. Continuing this trend will lead to the extinction of fishing jobs and the eventual death of the ocean’s ecosystem.

The waste disposal in oceans leaves so many aquatic organisms dead because it sucks the oxygen out of the water, preventing animals from breathing properly. What makes the situation more frustrating is the fact that it can be fixed with enough time, effort, and money.

When asked for his opinion, Minister of the Environment Tarek Khatib claimed that he and his colleagues were completing their assigned tasks. But Khatib also mentioned that the Council for Development and Reconstruction signed a contract stating that the garbage would be deposited into the ocean, ignoring the Ministry’s advice to consider how environmentally damaging that action would be.

Akram Chehayeb, Khatib’s predecessor, is understandably upset with the Council and the nation’s carelessness in the past in relation to garbage disposal. Before he retired from his position as Minister of the Environment, he created policies that would have remedied the situation in a fairly short amount of time. In fact, he figured that Lebanon could set up a new landfill area near Beirut in around seven months, and perhaps it’s still possible.

A better solution would be to create and use waste incinerators, but this system would take about four years to properly put into place. A quickly implemented solution with slow but noticeable effects is currently the nation’s best option.

Chehayeb and many others aren’t too optimistic about the future of Lebanon’s garbage collection problem, seeing as little action is being taken to reverse it. By the time the nation decides to deal with one of its biggest issues, it may be too late.