Collective Action
Protest brings Sidon waste plant to halt
Demonstrators broke into a waste-sorting plant in Sidon Friday to protest the pervasive smell and environmental degradation resulting from the site and its nearby dumps, prompting retaliation by the plant’s workers. The southern coastal city’s household solid waste treatment center, operated by IBC, said it would temporarily close in response to the protests, prompting Sidon MP Osama Saad, a main organizer of Friday’s protests, to say the factory must remain open. Saad said the factory was a public establishment, though operated by a private company.
The protests, called by Saad’s Popular Nasserite Organization and civil society groups, escalated after participants attempted to enter the solid household waste-sorting factory following an impassioned discussion outside.