Mountains of Waste in Tripoli, a Time Ticking Nuclear Bomb!

After the disaster that befell the city of Beirut as a result of the port explosion, UFL warns of the danger of another disaster in the city of Tripoli due to the pile of garbage in which the waste has accumulated for more than 20 years without the slightest treatment of the toxic gases. Unless treated, the danger of reaching an explosion due to the leakage of methane and carbon dioxide as a result of the decomposition of waste remains evident, which constitutes a time ticking bomb. According to experts, this pile of waste might explode for several factors, and its destructive power will be around 5 km2 in diameter, meaning it will destroy Tripoli, the port and Al-Baddawi together.

It is worth noting that UFL and its partners filed a lawsuit with the Urgent Matters Judge on July 12, 2019 to request a halt to work at the Tripoli landfill, due to its sea pollution, the environment and health risks resulting from the first pile of waste and the dangers of its collapse, as well as requiring the Union of Municipalities to conduct modern waste management that prevents its disrupting of the sorting plant and landfill. However, this case, like the others, is still pending before courts. To this day, despite the efforts and repeated warnings of emissions of flammable methane gas in the Tripoli landfill, the Costa Brava, Bourj Hammoud, Naameh, and others, and the vigorous follow-up of the lawsuits submitted by UFL related to this file, no response was made from any responsible party in the state.

Therefore, UFL calls on all Lebanese in general, particularly the people of Tripoli, to take immediate action to save lives before a disaster strikes.