Najat Saliba: Incinerators are 'an unacceptable solution' in Lebanon

BEIRUT — Lebanon risks a new environmental disaster as the Cabinet grapples with the looming closure of the Jdeideh landfill in the Metn district, which currently has no replacement. Amid intensifying debate over how to handle the country’s mounting trash, MP Najat Aoun Saliba of the Change bloc has reiterated her opposition to using incinerators as a solution.

An expert in atmospheric chemistry, Saliba said in a press release relayed by the state-run National News Agency (NNA) that she opposes "any government decision inclined toward resolving the waste issue through the adoption of incinerators or so-called waste-to-energy technology."

She cited the health hazards of such technology, highlighting "toxic and carcinogenic emissions, among the most dangerous in the world." The residues left behind by incinerators, she added, are similarly hazardous. Saliba emphasized that adopting this approach "would go against Law 80/2018, which defined the waste management hierarchy, prioritizing reduction, source separation and recycling before treatment."

Saliba also noted that incinerators "contradict" the previous government’s waste management strategy, which did not promote the technology. She warned that reliance on incinerators "would lead to the bankruptcy of small and medium-sized businesses currently operating in the waste transformation sector, and would centralize production in the hands of a limited number of investors closely connected to those in power, who would sell these facilities and profit at the expense of the population."

The MP further criticized the "high investment and operational costs, for which there is no economic justification, further burdening the Lebanese people with additional debt in service to a minority in power."

The Jdeideh site, which serves northern Mount Lebanon and parts of Beirut, is already over capacity, with waste piling up to 37 meters. Short-term alternatives, including expanding the site, face obstacles: the land in question was allocated to the municipality as compensation for hosting waste over the years, and officials are unwilling to release it without guarantees.

On Tuesday, a brief closure of the landfill sparked panic before it was reopened at the government’s request, pending a Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday.