Kataeb Party leader, MP Samy Gemayel, submitted this week a formal parliamentary question to the government, sounding the alarm over the worsening environmental and health risks posed by the Jdeideh-Bourj Hammoud waste landfill, which has exceeded its intended capacity and now towers more than 30 meters high.

In a letter addressed to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and directed to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, along with the Ministers of Interior, Environment, and Public Works, Gemayel warned of “a looming environmental and public health disaster” and demanded urgent answers about the government’s response and mitigation plans.

Originally approved by the Cabinet and formalized in a contract between the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) and Khoury Contracting Company, the landfill was meant to operate until May 1, 2020, with a height limit of 13 meters. But after that deadline expired, the government authorized continued dumping at the site, raising the limit by an additional meter to a meter and a half across the area. Today, the landfill stands at more than double its intended height.

Gemayel said the decision, made by the Cabinet on May 5, 2020, was aimed at preventing a renewed waste management crisis in Beirut, Metn, and Keserwan, and staving off public outrage. However, the consequences have become impossible to ignore.

“The result has been the emission of foul odors, visible environmental degradation, and significant health hazards threatening residents of surrounding areas,” Gemayel said in his letter. “It has also distorted the coastal landscape of the Northern Metn shoreline.”

The Kataeb chief accused successive governments of failing to follow through on plans to build waste treatment plants, sorting facilities, and composting centers in coordination with local municipalities—a policy he said should have been pursued under a decentralized framework.

“Relevant authorities have often failed to support municipal efforts to ease the burden on the landfill,” Gemayel added, criticizing the use of Lebanon’s financial collapse over the past five years as a pretext to expand the landfill rather than invest in long-term waste management solutions.

In his letter, Gemayel directed two key questions to the government:

1. What measures are being taken by the relevant ministries to reduce waste, complete and operate waste treatment facilities across Lebanon, and empower municipalities to handle sorting and composting?

2. What immediate alternatives and emergency solutions are being prepared to address the environmental and public health risks posed by the landfill’s excessive size?

Citing Article 124 of Parliament’s internal rules of procedure, Gemayel requested written answers within 15 days from the Prime Minister and relevant ministers. Should they fail to respond, he warned, the matter would be escalated into a formal interpellation in accordance with Article 126.

The Jdeideh-Bourj Hammoud landfill, located along the Mediterranean coast near densely populated residential areas, has long been at the center of public outcry over Lebanon’s mismanaged waste sector, which has seen repeated crises since the closure of the Naameh landfill in 2015.

Environmental experts haveconsistently warned that over-reliance on coastal landfills without proper infrastructure poses serious threats to both marine ecosystems, air quality, and public health.