Win for Tunisian town facing landfill crisis as government backs down

Win for Tunisian town facing landfill crisis as government backs down

Work has begun to clear 30,000 tonnes of household rubbish from the streets of Tunisia’s “second city” of Sfax after the government backed down in a long-running dispute over a landfill site.

Residents and activists in Agareb, where the current dump is located, said the site, opened in 2008 near the El Gonna national park, was a risk to human health. In recent weeks, unrest in the region has escalated, with access to the site blocked and police using teargas against demonstrators from the town. One man, Abderrazek Lacheb, has allegedly died after being caught up in the demonstrations, although the police have denied his death was due to teargas.

Moadh Akacha, 34, an activist from Agareb, said he was satisfied with the government’s decision to relocate the landfill. “The new site is 62km [39 miles] away from Sfax, about 22km [14 miles] from Agareb,” he said. “It’s a good location, but it’s only a temporary one. We’ll have to see what happens.”