EU welcomes Lebanon's commitment to solve solid waste issue

EU welcomes Lebanon's commitment to solve solid waste issue

15-04-2010

 

The Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon has welcomed the decision taken by the Council of Ministers to the operation and maintenance of all the solid waste management facilities that the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) is building with the financial support of the EU.
 
A Delegation press release said five years after the EU allocated to Lebanon a €14.2 million grant to start solving the problem of solid waste, the Lebanese authorities have committed to allocate the necessary resources for the facilities to continue to serve the Lebanese population.
 
In December 2005, the Delegation of the EU to Lebanon signed a protocol with OMSAR, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM), assigning the management of the EU-funded "Municipal investment projects in solid waste management" to OMSAR.
 
The "Municipal investment projects in solid waste management" has resulted in:
 
  • the construction of 12 solid waste facilities, 5 of which are already finalised in Shouf Swaijani, Khiam, Tyre, Ansar and Abbassieh;
  • the delivery of 13,788 solid waste collection containers and 59 solid waste collection and handling vehicles.
 
The project is accompanied with an awareness campaign for the citizens on proper sorting and environmental impact of solid waste.
 
Once the project is finalized, it will serve 1.2 million Lebanese with proper solid waste facility and equipment, representing more than 25% of the Lebanese population.