Conflict Incident Report

A group of members from civil society gathered in Beirut’s Riad al-Solh Square to protest the government’s adoption of plans to use waste incinerators across the country.

“We hold the Beirut municipality, its mayor, the deputy mayor and 22 of its members responsible for the decision to use incinerators,” one protester said in a televised broadcast from the demonstration.

She added that a lawsuit would be filed if this decision was not revoked by the Beirut municipality.

Demonstrators also pointed the finger at Cabinet for passing a decision that would permit the use of incinerators across the country. “We are working on the ground, through social media and other ways to [battle] these decisions,” the same protester said.

Earlier this year, Lebanese engineer Ziad Abi Chaker released the documentary, “An incinerator for Beirut?” The documentary showed the findings of American University of Beirut professor Issam Lakkis, who conducted a simulation of the direction of the fumes released by an incinerator positioned in Karantina based on wind direction and speed. Pointing at a wide blue area covering the Beirut map, Lakkis concluded that the neighborhoods of Ashrafieh and Burj Hammoud would be the most exposed to the fumes coming from the incinerator.

“We are here to highlight the dangers of using these [incinerators],” the protester continued.

“We want to pressure those responsible, to use an eco-friendly solution to the waste crisis – one that would help citizens and the health of all.”

Demonstrators also lamented the decision to expand two existing landfills – proposed by Environment Minister Tarek Khatib and endorsed by Cabinet last month.

The planned expansion of coastal landfills, which was originally billed as a "temporary" solution to Lebanon’s 2015 garbage crisis, has been criticized by activists and environmentalists for being short sighted and leading to the pollution of the sea in contravention to international conventions that Lebanon has ratified.