Head of the Kataeb party MP Samy Gemayel said Wednesday that “a mafia is currently benefitting from the country's waste managament crisis... a mafie that is making profits at the expense of the Lebanese people,” denouncing the attempts aiming at preventing any solution from being forged.
In a press conference, Gemayel urged the government to find new landfill locations, pointing out that the waste management company, Sukleen, is using the people’s fear from drowning under piles of garbage as a reason to extend its contract.
“The time has come for the people to raise their voice against Sukleen, which has been holding Lebanon hostage for over 20 years,” he stated.
The waste management crisis returned to the forefront after the Naameh landfill was closed last week, and since Sukleen halted its work, leaving piles of garbage to fill the streets.
The Naameh landfill originally opened in 1998 as part of the then-government’s Emergency Plan to close the Burj Hammoud dump. The plan was supposed to be temporary, and the Naameh landfill was scheduled for closure in 2004.
Nonetheless, successive cabinets continued to defer the date, and Sukleen overfilled the site far beyond any conceivable capacity. The Naameh dump, originally appointed to receive 2 million tons of waste, has been filled with over 15 million tons to date.