The European Union, the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) and the Union of Municipalities of Al Fayha' inaugurated today the Solid Waste Treatment Plant of Tripoli in the presence of H.E. Minister Inaya Ezzedine, the Head of the Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Christina Lassen, North Lebanon Governor, Judge Ramzi Nohra, and the President of the Union of Municipalities of Al Fayha', Mr Ahmad Qamareddine. The plant is funded by the European Union. and implemented by OMSAR.

The Solid Waste Treatment Plant of Tripoli is the largest in the country and combines sorting, recycling and composting. It serves the Union of Municipalities of Al Fayhaa (municipalities of Tripoli, Al Mina, Al Beddawi and Qalamoun) with a population of around 500,000. Built with a €1.4 million EU grant, it has been upgraded to reach a capacity of 400 tonnes per day through private investment. The plant has also helped to create more than 50 new jobs.

"This inauguration is a solid step in the face of the challenges that the whole country has been facing for some time now when it comes to solid waste management," Ambassador Lassen said. "This will not be the only project we do in this region of the country. We will also support the construction of new sorting and composting facilities and sanitary landfills such as in Srar. Once operational, these sites will cover all the needs of the North Lebanon region," she stated, adding that "in total, it is over €77 million that the EU has invested in Lebanon in the municipal waste sector."

Minister Ezzedine said: "The Tripoli plant is one of the biggest plants in Lebanon in terms of the amount of waste it will process. This plant also has the technology that will enable it to sort and process approximately 80% of the waste it receives through enhanced sorting processes, composting organic waste, and producing alternative fuel from solid waste, i.e. RDF." She also considered that this plant is the first initiative in Lebanon to establish a partnership between the public and private sectors in the field of solid waste treatment, and that this initiative should be made successful as it has promising effects on local development in Lebanon.

15 other similar plants across Lebanon will also be constructed or extended with EU support, such as in Baalbek, Zahle and Jeb Janine, and hundreds of municipalities will be assisted in implementing effective solid waste management. Disposal and collection equipment (bins, trucks and compactors) will also be provided.

Through this EU support, a total of 540 municipalities will be assisted in implementing effective solid waste management, more than 600 jobs will be created for the benefit of the local communities, and a total treatment capacity of 2400 tonnes per day will be reached.