Garbage piled up in the streets of Metn. (Credit: L'Orient Today / Marc Fayad)
BEIRUT — Trash collection resumed in Beirut and Metn on Wednesday morning following a decision to implement and monitor safety measures at the Jdeideh landfill, the state-run National News Agency reported. Trash collection was suspended from Friday after a truck operated by Ramco, one of two companies contracted to collect trash in Beirut, ran over a scavenger in the Jdeideh landfill.
Here’s what we know:
• All the waste that accumulated on the streets over the past five days in Beirut and Metn will be cleaned up by Thursday, the NNA added.
• A decision to prevent scavengers from entering the landfill was reached during a meeting between the interior and environment Ministers, Bassam Mawlawi and Nasser Yassine, the governors of Beirut and Mount Lebanon Marwan Abboud and Mohammad Makkawi, the President of the Council for Development and Reconstruction Nabil Jisr and municipal officials and security forces.
• Many scavengers regularly enter landfills in Bourj Hammoud and Costa Brava, while the authorities are unable to ensure the security of these sites effectively. Garbage collection and transport companies regularly complain about this situation.
• At the beginning of April, trash piled up on the streets of the southern suburbs of Beirut and areas surrounding the city. All these regions are served by City Blu, another waste management contractor. City Blu workers were on strike because of the refusal of the banks to release their wages. Banque du Liban finally agreed to increase the limit of withdrawals in lira for the company so that it could pay its employees, and since then City Blu has resumed trash collection.