Lebanon health minister sounds alarm over trash mountains

Minister says ‘major health disaster’ looming if no immediate solution found to country’s garbage crisis

By AP 18 August 2015, 9:36 pm

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Piles of garbage blocks a street in east Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s health minister says the country is on the brink of a “major health disaster” unless an immediate solution is found for its mounting trash problem.

Garbage has been collecting on the streets in Lebanon for the past month amid government paralysis and inability to agree on a solution after Beirut’s main landfill was closed down.

Some residents have resorted to burning the trash on the streets, sending toxic fumes over the city’s skyline and into people’s homes.

Health Minister Wael Abu Faour said Monday that Lebanon’s air, water and food were threatened with contamination and called for an emergency committee to come up with immediate recommendations.

Political disputes in recent weeks have blocked the government from taking decisions, including agreeing on alternative ways of dealing with the garbage crisis.