SIDON: The recent bout of stormy weather that hit the country has broken up parts of one of the country’s worst eyesores, the Sidon dump, and left city officials fuming about the state of neglect. But for others, making their living off the putrid waste site, the violent weather has been a boon. At the dump, south of the city, massive amounts of garbage fell away into the sea in recent days as torrential downpours and violent winds lashed the coast.
On Wednesday, Sidon’s mayor, Abdel-Rahman Bizri, called on the authorities to urgently remedy the problem and said the municipality was considering permanently closing the dump.
In recent years, solutions to the environmental problems stemming from the dump have been discussed, but Bizri said the situation could not tolerate further delays.
“Sidon cannot wait years for the studies to be concluded and solutions to be reached,” he said.
Bizri’s also strongly condemned the authorities’ neglect of the environmental hazard and said that anyone responsible for the mess should be held legally accountable. He also voiced his concern to the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the Governorate of South Lebanon and the Public Works Ministry, calling on them to intervene.
“Sidon seems to be left alone, without anyone to share its environmental burdens,” he said.
However, for some Sidon residents the storm has actually had positive results. A number of locals who earn a living by collecting garbage from the site for recycling purposes found the excessive amount of waste to be in their favor.
“What we’ve gathered in 10 minutes after the storm is usually the fruit of a regular day’s labor,” said Mahmoud Jaber.
One of Jaber’s colleagues, Ahmad Hleyhel, explained that when the storm drifted waste from the dump, it brought “fresh” garbage in its wake, unlike the waste that was usually found washed up on the shore, namely suffering from deterioration due to the salty sea water.
“You have to look for quality,” he said.
Hleyhel said that what he had gathered for the day was enough to buy bread, chicken and some milk for his family. “There is no shame in working … you never know what surprises the sea can hide,” he added.
The environmental crisis also seemed to be to the benefit of another kind of Sidon residents. The stray dogs of the city gathered in even larger numbers after the storm to prey on the leftovers they would find drifted on the beach.
The dogs, as if earning a day’s living, inspected the dump for food during the day then went back into the city during the night. Nonetheless, the canine prowlers, known for their possessive territorial behavior, have been a source of inconvenience for some of the garbage collectors at the dump and for some of the locals.
“Maybe they heard about all that talk to close the dump and they decided to defend their territory,” said local Ahmad al-Sous. “Maybe they’re trying to make a point: don’t mess with our dump,” he added.
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