The Assoun landfill, in Minyeh, has been on fire since the evening of Thursday, Sept. 3. (Credit: Photo provided by Michel Hallak)
NORTH LEBANON — A fire broke out Thursday night at an illegal dump in the village of Assoun, in the Minyeh-Dinnieh district of North Lebanon, and was still not fully under control as of Friday, our correspondent Michel Hallak reports.
The burning waste caused pollution that residents complained about, according to the Terre-Liban association, which issued a statement about the incident on social media. The pollution is particularly concerning because the landfill is located not far from the Sir Dinnieh public hospital.
On Thursday, witnesses reported seeing flames rising from the site and lighting up the sky. Civil Defense was dispatched to extinguish the fire, assisted by municipal workers, in an effort to prevent it from spreading to the nearby forest. Their efforts were hampered and delayed by thick smoke billowing from the burning waste.
Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, Mayor Marwan Sleiman said efforts to extinguish the fire were in their final stages. "We are turning over the waste to completely put out the remaining hotspots and prevent the flames from reigniting," he said.
According to nearby residents cited by our correspondent, this is not the first time waste has been set on fire at the site, which is located on public land. Fires reportedly break out there at least once a year.
Terre-Liban criticized the fact that the site is located above water springs and called on the relevant authorities to address the issue and test the local water supply.
Responding to questions from L’Orient-Le Jour, Sleiman acknowledged that the landfill has no environmental protection infrastructure. “The site serves only our village, and it is very old,” he said.
He said he had tried to establish a waste-sorting system as well as a system to recover gases, but lacked the resources to implement effective long-term technologies. "We have a plan to create a composting unit to reduce the organic waste that emits methane, a gas that fuels fires," he adds.
Regarding Friday's fire, Sleiman suspected arsons, though he provided no evidence or indication of who might have a grievance against the municipality. “We have filed a complaint against persons unknown and will place a guard at the landfill’s gate tonight,” he said.
Lebanon suffers from a chronic waste-management problem, with mismanagement widespread across the country, particularly in remote areas where municipalities are often left to fend for themselves.
Burning tires: A disaster in the making
Another example of the chaos in waste management is the routine burning of tires, a practice that residents in North Lebanon regularly complain about, according to our correspondent.
Used tires are burned by informal networks seeking to extract metals such as copper, aluminum and iron for resale.
Residents of Dhour Bahnein, a village in Dinnieh, called on authorities Friday to address the dangers posed by the practice and the pollution it causes, which now extends beyond tires to include electric cables.
They complained about the toxic smoke produced by the burning and expressed concern for their health, calling on the relevant authorities to arrest those responsible. Smoke produced by burning plastic products contains toxic gases, fine particles and heavy metals, posing a major health risk.
