Berri Proposes 'Way Out' for Trash Crisis

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed the willingness of the Amal movement and Hizbullah to shoulder the burden of the trash that originates from the areas under their influence, which could end the almost five-month trash management crisis, As Safir daily reported.

“Unfortunately, some parties have insisted on involving the waste file in sectarianism,” Berri told the daily on Thursday.

“I have therefore suggested that Hizbullah and Amal movement bear the responsibility of waste disposal that rises from areas under their influence based on decentralization and strengthening the role of municipalities,” added the Speaker.

“This way, there are no longer any justification to say that some parties are bearing the burden of this file and others are evading it.”

Berri had stated that he basically did not want to intervene in the controversial trash file because there was a cabinet decision waiting for implementation in that regard.

But the hurdles that faced the solutions have compelled him to make a suggestion that still waits implementation, the daily said.

Berri pointed out that if his “suggestion was approved, then the cabinet shall call for an urgent meeting within 24 or 48 hours to approve a comprehensive solution to the trash crisis and other pressing issues.”

On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb and Health Minister Wael Abou Faour met with Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

After the talks, Shehayyeb said: “Minister Abou Faour and I will conduct some contacts today so that we can reach the shore of safety tomorrow in the deadlocked garbage crisis.”

For his part, Berri's political aide Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who attended the talks, said the speaker “proposed new ideas that require convening the cabinet within 24 hours.”

“The ideas are compatible with the plan” proposed by Shehayyeb and a team of experts, Khalil said.

Lebanon has been suffering from a trash disposal crisis since July with the closure of the Naameh landfill.

Politicians have failed to find an alternative to the landfill, resulting in the pile up of garbage on the streets of the country.

Heavy rain on Sunday brought with it flooded streets coupled with waste, as experts warned of the health and environmental impact of the crisis.

D.A.

M.T.