Waste management contractors have resumed their trash collection services, according to the environment minister

BEIRUT — Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said that waste management contractors resumed trash collection services Saturday morning following days of impasse that has seen garbage pile up in parts of Beirut and surrounding areas.

Here is what we know:

    • In a tweet, Yassin wrote that “waste removal contractors resumed their work [Saturday] morning after long discussions with them in the past two days about their contracts with the Council for Development and Reconstruction and the Beirut municipality.”

    • He added that his ministry was working on a “sustainable solution” to waste management in Lebanon and preparing for a workshop on the issue.

    • On Friday, Yassin and Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi held a meeting with municipal officials from Beirut, Mount Lebanon and Metn to discuss the waste crisis after contractors Ramco and City Blu discontinued their services.

    • In a statement Wednesday, Ramco said that authorities were not abiding by its contract with the CDR and Beirut municipality, leading the company to suffer losses that “threatened its existence.” Ramco called on the CDR to launch a new tender to find a firm to replace it.

    • The following day, the municipality of Ghobeiri said in a statement that City Blu had stopped collecting waste due to financial losses brought on by the deteriorated value of the Lebanese lira.