Integrated Waste Management Policy Paper
In the absence of a clear national plan for Integrated Waste Management (IWM), and due to various political and governmental issues, Lebanon has had to face a serious waste crisis in 2015. The paper scrutinizes events leading up to the 17th of July 2015, and the impact of its aftermath on Lebanon’s environment, infrastructure, health and landscape. Parallels are drawn throughout the paper to a similar crisis faced by residents of Campania, Italy.
This paper thoroughly analyzes Lebanon’s “waste profile” and benchmarks it against a spectrum of countries to further understand global trends in waste management and treatment in comparison with Lebanon’s capacity, capability and potential in the field.
The Task Team evaluated the Technical Committee’s plan and highlighted major points such as: 1)the lack of procedural clarity; 2)the need for the implementation of a thorough capacity and capability building plan in parallel; and 3)the pressing need to replace the concepts of “comprehensive solid waste management” with “Integrated Waste Management”.
Taking crisis mitigation measures implemented locally, the role of CSOs and the feasibility of mandating Unions of Municipalities to undertake waste treatment, the paper considers three focal policy questions: 1. What is the most feasible course of action in order to solve the 2015 Waste Crisis? 2. What are the most strategically sustainable IWM models to adopt? 3. Can these practices be replicated nationwide and integrated at policy level?
Basing the study on a holistic policy analysis, the paper looks at the governance, health, social, financial and technical aspects of what is available and what is required; not just to resolve the 2015 Waste Crisis, but to transition authorities from a “reactive crisis mode” into “proactively implementing a Zero-Waste Integrated Waste Management Plan” or “Wasteless Lebanon 2022”.
The Task Team builds on Chehayeb’s plan to suggest a timeline for the mitigation of the 2015 Waste Crisis amalgamating the Technical Committee’s plan with other suggestions of export and local treatment modalities. Meanwhile, the capacity building mode needs to run in parallel to achieve a sustainable IWM and to grow the much needed Green Economy.
