National waste
management plan approved

Tenders for sweeping, collection, transport, and treatment

The Council of Ministers approved a plan, yesterday, to manage and treat solid waste. It asked the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) to prepare the terms of reference to hold a tender for sweeping, collecting, and moving waste in Beirut, North Lebanon, and most of Mount Lebanon. The CDR was also tasked with holding another tender for the treatment of solid waste and conversion to energy.

The tender covers five regions: Chouf, Aley, Baabda, the southern suburbs, Metn, Kesrouan and Akkar.

The ministry said the troublesome Nehmeh landfill will be shut down for good in January. But there might be a few weeks’ delay due to technical reasons.

According to the plan, collected waste will be sorted and transformed to fertilizers. Part of the waste will be used to generate energy in the cement factories of Chekka and Sibline, which run on coal.

The Ministry of Environment (MoE) said that after January 17, 2015, the old contracts will no longer be renewed. They had expired four years ago but continued to be renewed yearly, ever since.

MoE said that the plants will not be planned near residential areas and that they are vital for the production of Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF), which will be used by the cement factories.

According to MoE, there are over 700 random dumpsters across the country.