The Syrian refugee crisis is paradoxically helping Lebanon solve its longstanding trash disposal problem. The refugees are themselves producing more garbage, and since Lebanon has long struggled with the problem of where to put much of its refuse, the European Union was prompted to donate €14 million ($18 million) in 2014 to build more landfills along with sorting and treatment plants, much needed infrastructure projects. While change will not come overnight, this money — and a second €21 million ($27 million) grant that the EU is also expected to approve shortly — will mean that 95 percent of Lebanon will be covered by waste management facilities, says Mohamad Baraki, manager of the solid waste management program at the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR), which oversees the spending of the EU money. Baraki tells Executive that Lebanon will use the EU funding to build five new
Matt was Executive's Economics & Policy Editor and Real Estate Editor from May 2014 to November 2017. He began reporting in Lebanon in April 2007, and his coverage focused on oil and gas, public policy and human rights.
