Lebanese Gov't Allows Local Authorities to Manage Waste Disposal Amid Protests

Lebanese allows local municipalities to manage their own waste disposal amid protests over the accumulation of garbage in the streets.

BEIRUT (Sputnik) – Lebanon’s government has decided to give local municipalities the authority to manage their own waste disposal amid protests over the accumulation of garbage in the streets, particularly in the capital Beirut.

Lebanese Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb approved the measure on Wednesday during a six-hour-long emergency cabinet meeting.

Under the agreement, two new landfills will be opened to manage waste and the Naameh landfill, the largest in the country, will be temporarily reopened.

Demonstrators gathered ahead of the government meeting in the capital Beirut. Local reports said that some protesters threw eggs at politicians’ cars outside the parliament building.

The first protesters over waste disposal in Lebanon took place in August. They were triggered by the July shutting down of the Naameh landfill, located south of Beirut. Dozens of police officers were injured during clashes with people protesting against the government’s inability to clean up the country of uncollected garbage.

Lebanon has been suffering from a political vacuum after Michel Suleiman stepped down from the post of president in 2014. The country’s parliament has repeatedly failed to agree on a law on fresh elections, prolonging their terms until 2017.