DAILY SCOPE: Lebanon’s Waste Crisis Could Have Toppled Cabinet in Britain!

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Lebanese newspapers on Monday focused on the waste management crisis in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, to which the British ambassador referred to as a ‘crisis' that would have toppled the cabinet had it taken place in Britain. News dailies also focused on the ongoing Presidential impasse and the talk of the resignation of Lebanon's Prime Minister who is falling under tremendous pressure from the different issues stuck in the cabinet. The Syrian crisis also is almost never absent from newspapers headlines, amid reassurances that Syria is progressing in terms of confronting terrorism.

Salam: Waste Crisis National Disaster --- AS-SAFIR

Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam described the country's waste crisis as a "national disaster," warning that street protests could get out of control and lead to detrimental effects.

Salam, warning that intensified street protests "would have very harmful circumstances," told as-Safir newspaper on Monday "We are facing a national disaster that is much more dangerous than some (people) imagine."

The Prime Minister further added that the country can no longer tolerate "intense crises because the situation in the region is different and the status-quo has changed."

Moreover, Salam told as-Safir, however, that a solution to the crisis was looming in the horizon.

On Sunday night, the PM held a meeting that was attended by Ministers Nouhad al-Mashnouq, Mohammed al-Mashnouq, Akram Shehayyeb and Wael Abou Faour and MP Alaeddine Terro at the Grand Serail, which was held when protesters blocked the highway that links Beirut with the South in the coastal town of Jiyeh after news broke out that the authorities were considering to send the capital's waste to the Iqlim al-Kharroub area.

The protesters stopped several trucks carrying trash and prevented them from entering the region. A day earlier activists held a protest near the Grand Serail in downtown Beirut calling on Salam and the environment minister to resign.

Jumblatt: No Serious Initiative to Solve Waste Crisis --- AL-AKHBAR

In remarks to al-Akhbar daily published on Monday, MP Walid Jumblatt said that he hasn't so far seen a serious initiative to resolve the waste crisis, which erupted when the landfill was closed on July 17 in accordance with a government decision taken earlier this year.

The waste management crisis erupted on July 17 following the closure of the Naameh landfill south of Beirut, which had been receiving trash from the capital and Mount Lebanon since 1997. The landfill was meant to operate for only a few years until a comprehensive solution was devised. But the government has so far failed to resolve the issue.

Sukleen; the main company in charge of collecting trash in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, stopped its work last week after it was no longer able to store waste at its facilities. Piles of trash filled the sidewalks and streets across Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

In his remarks to the daily, Jumblatt did not rule out a possible extension but warned that if the authorities failed to find alternative landfills, then the road to Naameh would remain blocked.

The area's residents have been blocking the highway that links Beirut with the South in the town of Jiyeh since Sunday to protest such a decision.

Fletcher: Lebanese Should Take Action --- AS-SAFIR 

The British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher stated that a waste crisis in Britain similar to that of Lebanon would have toppled the British cabinet as in the 1970s, reported as-Safir on Monday.

"The trade unions decided then to hold a strike for three days, which led to the accumulation of waste in the streets of London. That angered the people and triggered a series of popular protests which toppled the cabinet," he told the paper.

"The Lebanese are upset by the mistakes they see, and they never stop complaining but they also never take action to change the course of things and this is very sad," he added. 

Source: al-Ahed news