The Minister Inaya EZZEDDIN during a training session on solid waste management: “Policy development and capacity development is the mission of the state, implementation is the responsibility of local administrations and citizens”

With funding from the EU, OMSAR organized a training session on August 8th 2018 that aims at strengthening capacities in local administrations for the management of solid waste in Lebanon, which is part of a series of sessions that will take place over the course of the coming two years.
The session aimed to assist municipalitiesand the municipal federations to consolidate their capacities, update local plans for solid waste management and control of their implementation in the regions concerned.
The session included a foreword by the Minister of State for Administrative Reform H.E Inaya Ezzedine, in which she explained that the treatment of waste is an integrated system and cannot be limited to the operation of a few facilities in random regions across Lebanon. This necessitates the establishment of policies and general concepts in which citizens are partners. The Minister further highlighted that the goal of these workshops is to create more awareness about the current situation in the regions, to examine their needs more closely and to develop integrated waste management policies.

Minister Ezzedine emphasized the need to deal with waste by starting to reduce the amount that is being produced, and training citizens to sort from the source, which contributes to improve the quality of organic waste that is reaching sorting and composting plants. This in turn leads to a higher quality of compost and reduces the amount of residual waste that is sent to landfills thus prolonging the life of these landfills.
H.E Ezzedine said that these training sessions were an opportunity to discuss and exchange opinions, as she hoped that the attending mayors and municipal federations will address pertinent and relevant questions about solid waste management during each meeting. ‘Thanks to the Technical Assistant consultants working with the Ministry, the results of this meeting will help OMSAR develop policies for efficient and integrated waste management’.
The session, which was conducted by environmental specialists from the Ministry and the consulting company IDOM, focused on guidelines for the establishment of a professional waste management system within the framework of municipalities or municipal federations. The session concluded by taking note of observations regarding the financial sustainability indicators of waste management systems mentioned by the participants, in order to subsequently develop effective cost recovery schemes in future.

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The Minister Inaya EZZEDDIN during a training session on solid waste management: “Policy development and capacity development is the mission of the state, implementation is the responsibility of local administrations and citizens”