Cleaning up

If all goes as planned, 2015 will be a big year for new contracts in the waste management sector, which has been dominated by the Averda companies Sukleen and Sukomi since the 1990s. The government is pushing ahead with a national municipal solid waste (MSW) plan that will see the country divided into six service regions while grant money from the European Union will also fund the construction of new sanitary landfills and waste treatment facilities. Combined, there are 21 MSW projects in the pipeline, five of which are currently being tendered, according to officials responsible for implementing them. While these new projects mean business opportunities for both local and international companies, they could also mean the end of uncontrolled dumps, the dangerous “final” resting place of nearly 30 percent of Lebanon’s garbage. Talking trash In 2014, Lebanon disposed of an estimated 6,549 tons of MSW, according to an environmental