WB: US$8.86 million Grant to Support Solid Waste Management, Reduce Public Health and Environmental Impacts in Lebanon

WB: US$8.86 million Grant to Support Solid Waste Management, Reduce Public Health and Environmental Impacts in Lebanon

NNA - A new US$8.86 million grant will help Lebanon reduce harmful emissions from open burning of solid waste, improve solid waste management including recycling and composting at the municipal level, and reduce the exposure of residents of the North and South of the country to hazardous substances.

The Reduction of Unintentional Persistent Organic Pollutants through Waste Management in a  Circular Economy project, signed today by  H.E. Lebanese Minister of Environment Nasser Yassine and World Bank Mashreq Country Director, Jean-Christophe Carret, is financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the world’s largest funder of biodiversity protection, nature restoration, pollution reduction, and climate change response in developing countries.

Well before the current economic and financial crisis, Lebanon was already facing severe environmental challenges. In 2018, the annual cost of environmental degradation reached 4.4% of GDP -equivalent to US$2.39 billion, Since then, conditions  have worsened, with severely impeded delivery of basic public services, increased pollution levels and further depleted natural resources. The disruption of the solid waste sector is reflected in a massive drop in service levels: less than 8% of collected household waste is being treated, over 40% of this waste ends up in open dumps, and there is limited adherence to the