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ECONOMIC CRISIS

Garbage once again piles up in Saida

Garbage once again piles up in Saida

Garbage piled up in a street in Saida, Dec. 12, 2022. (Courtesy of: Munstasser Abdallah)

BEIRUT — Garbage in several streets in Saida, South Lebanon piled up on Monday after the company responsible for picking it up appeared to stop working last week, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the area reported.

New Trading and Contracting, s.a.l., the company responsible for garbage collection in the area, halted work due to a lack of funds to fuel vehicles and a lack of dues payment from the government, a senior employee from the company told L'Orient Today

L'Orient Today's correspondent reported that the problem repeatedly happens in the area.

Saida's independent MP Oussama Saad tweeted on Monday that "the municipalities should find an immediate and sustainable solution to this health and environmental crisis."

"It also has to announce a state of health and environmental emergency and to communicate with the concerned ministries and the prime minister to protect people from danger ... don't be late, the situation is unbearable," Saad also wrote. 

Saida MP Abdul Rahman al-Bizri also reacted to the garbage crisis. He said in a statement that the problem of waste accumulation in Saida and surrounding areas has "become serious and complex, and is threatening a new environmental catastrophe and the safety of the people."

Bizri added that the "Union of Municipalities must find the best, fastest and [most] sustainable way to solve this crisis, and implement the process of collecting and removing waste that threatens public safety."

He stated that the municipalities of the Saida and Deir Zahrani region must "find quick and permanent solutions" for citizens.

Garbage pileups were a recurring issue in Lebanon even before today's economic crisis, in the absence of a sustainable solid waste management plan. Authorities have resorted to filling and then expanding garbage dumps beyond capacity. The waste management crisis has only been exacerbated by the country's economic collapse as the government struggles to pay for basic services such as garbage collection. 

Reporting contributed by Muntasser Abdallah


BEIRUT — Garbage in several streets in Saida, South Lebanon piled up on Monday after the company responsible for picking it up appeared to stop working last week, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the area reported.New Trading and Contracting, s.a.l., the company responsible for garbage collection in the area, halted work due to a lack of funds to fuel vehicles and a lack of dues payment from...