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LEBANON WAR

Imperiled waste collection: Another reverberation of displacement

From Beirut to Tripoli, via Akkar and Deir al-Ahmar, the challenge of waste management in Lebanon has been compounded by the influx of people displaced by the war.

Imperiled waste collection: Another reverberation of displacement

Waste piling up in Zouk, Kesrouan, on Oct. 11, 2024. (Credit: Suzanne Baaklini)

More than a million residents of southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and Beirut's southern suburbs have been forced to seek refuge in other regions since Israel's escalation against Hezbollah on Sept. 23. In addition to the humanitarian disaster caused by this population displacement, other problems are beginning to emerge, such as the collection and treatment of household waste. This challenge has become much more acute in the host areas, threatening public hygiene and the health of residents and displaced persons alike, despite the fact that this issue has been marked by disastrous organization for decades in Lebanon.Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, an official source close to the matter, wishing to remain anonymous, believes that “it is not possible, for the moment, to put forward figures or estimates on demographic changes, as population...
More than a million residents of southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and Beirut's southern suburbs have been forced to seek refuge in other regions since Israel's escalation against Hezbollah on Sept. 23. In addition to the humanitarian disaster caused by this population displacement, other problems are beginning to emerge, such as the collection and treatment of household waste. This challenge has become much more acute in the host areas, threatening public hygiene and the health of residents and displaced persons alike, despite the fact that this issue has been marked by disastrous organization for decades in Lebanon.Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, an official source close to the matter, wishing to remain anonymous, believes that “it is not possible, for the moment, to put forward figures or estimates on demographic changes, as population...