Judge Hassan Hamdan ordered the permanent closure of the controversial Costa Brava landfill within a maximum period of four months National News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The Baabda of urgent matter judge gave the four months time period in order to pave the way for concerned municipalities to find an alternative for the dump that receives the trash of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, NNA added
The landfill was supposed to be permanently closed on Tuesday, January 24, pending a final verdict in the case, according to a judge ruling. But the decision was postponed.
Orders to close the landfill, which is located in a resort coastal area along the Mediterranean sea and near the Rafik Hariri International Airport, emerged when concerns rose that the seagulls circling around the site pose a threat to aircraft safety.
Costa Brava was opened last March last year ( despite objections by local residents ) as one of three “temporary”landfills intended to provide an interim solution after the closure of the main Naameh landfill receiving waste from Beirut.
The landfills were eventually intended to have waste processing facilities, but that has never happened.
As a result, garbage has piled up reaching nine meters (30 feet) high in some places right on the beach of Costa Brava
Environmentalists have for months warned that the landfill is attracting rodents and increasing numbers of birds.
Last August, the Lebanese pilots’ union warned of the possibility of the birds being sucked into airplane engines.
Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos said the problem would be tackled by installing additional devices emitting high-pitched frequencies and bird of prey calls to scare away the nuisance birds.
A permanent solution for the 4 year old garbage crisis has yet to be found, despite protest
The garbage crisis issue is one of many outstanding challenges for Lebanon’s new government, which was formed on December 18 after two years of political deadlock.
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