Hariri Chairs Committee Meeting on Expansion of Landfills

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday chaired the ministerial committee meeting at the Grand Serail tasked with addressing a controversial solution for waste management.

The meeting was held in the presence of Deputy PM and Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani, Ministers of: State Talal Arslan, Women Affairs Jean Oghassapian, Industry Hussein Hajj Hassan, Environment Tarek Khatib, Tourism Avedis Kedanian, State Michel Pharaoun, Defense Yacoub al-Sarraf, State for Human Rights Ayman Choucair, State for Administrative Reforms Inaya Ezzeddine, Energy Cesar Abi Khalil, and Cabinet Secretary-General Fouad Fleifel and CDR Chairman Nabil al-Jisr.

VDL (93.3) radio station said that Abi Khalil presented a draft law during the meeting that paves way for municipalities to generate electricity from waste.

For his part, Hajj Hassan said discussions addressed an environment ministry's plan to expand the two major landfills of Costa Brava and Burj Hammoud, as the two are reaching maximum capacity.

Costa Brava and Burj Hammoud landfills were opened as part of a four-year plan to resolve the waste crisis that emerged in Lebanon in April 2016, eight months after the closure of the Naameh landfill, which received garbage from Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

The two landfills are reaching maximum capacity.

Tourism minister Kedanian said that discussions will continue until the interlocutors reach a comprehensive plan for waste management. He pointed out that a suggestion to expand the landfills is "rejected."