Conflict Incident Report

Activists closed down main highways over the weekend during Earth Day to protest environmental pollution caused by unsanitary landfills.

Demonstrators blocked the entrance to the Costa Brava landfill south of Beirut in observance of Earth Day, demanding the government implement an earlier judicial decision to close down the controversial dump.

Demonstrators protesting the Costa Brava landfill prevented garbage trucks from accessing the landfill after they held a symbolic rally to raise awareness of the dangers posed by the landfill – namely the stench and toxins emitting from the site.

The Traffic Management Center tweeted that protesters briefly blocked the Khaldeh highway leading to Beirut.

“They had vowed to build a sanitary dump ... but the mask has come off,” lawyer Imad al-Qadi said, on behalf of the demonstrators. “We will not allow the dump to remain and we deplore [attempts] to intervene in the judiciary’s decision.”

Qadi added, “We will only heed the government’s approval of the decision that closes the landfill.”

He warned that the residents of nearby areas would escalate their protest if the judicial decision wasn’t approved. “If it isn’t carried out by security forces then the people will carry it out.”

Qadi argued that the landfill contravenes the Barcelona Convention, which bars the establishment of landfills along the Mediterranean coast. “Today’s rally was spontaneous,” the lawyer said.

A resident from the district of Aley said that there must be a solution to the stink and unhealthy byproducts of the landfill.

“We are willing to prevent the entry of the trucks with our bodies if they don’t implement the decision,” he said.

The Al-Jihad Group for Commerce and Contracting, which won the bid to construct the landfill, released a statement saying that the foul odors at the site were caused by dismantling the unofficial landfill previously established in the area.

The JCC statement added that the removal of garbage from the landfill and the adjustment of the site requires seven working days, and five days of work remained. Clearing the land wasn’t possible during winter season, it said.

The company called on activists to facilitate its work, apologizing for the inconvenience.

In January 2017, Judge of Urgent Matters Hasan Hamdan issued a decision to shut down the Costa Brava landfill within four months. The landfill is expected to be shut down at the beginning of June.

However, Beirut’s Southern Suburbs Municipalities Union appealed Hamdan’s decision in February, lodging their request with a Mount Lebanon Court of Appeals in Baabda. If the Baabda court issues a judgment superseding Hamdan’s decision, the landfill will remain open beyond the date set for its closure.

A second landfill stirred controversy last week as Metn Urgent Matters Judge Ralph Kirkbi adjourned for one month a court session regarding the closure of the Burj Hammoud landfill.

Kirkbi ordered three experts tasked with conducting an environmental study of the landfill to submit a single report of their findings within 10 days. The judge also issued a gag order on lawyers involved in the case.