“Massive Waste Mountain Fire in Siniq Area Raises Health and Environmental Concerns”

The seasons of the big fire that broke out in tons of waste accumulated on the shoulder of the modern treatment plant in the Siniq area – south of Sidon have not ended, and it continued for long hours with the limited ability of the city’s firefighting teams to quickly extinguish it in light of the repercussions of the economic and financial crisis that afflicted the state’s institutions and facilities. .

Volunteers in the fire brigades confirmed to “Nidaa Al-Watan” that the process of extinguishing it faced many difficulties, the first being the limited capabilities and materials available to deal with this type of fire, the second was its outbreak on the shoulder of the western hill towards the sea, and the difficulty of reaching its source directly, and the third was the depth of the fire in waste and exhaust. And the emission of white and black smoke from it and the unpleasant odors that hindered progress more than once.

On Al-Sidawi street, resentment and anger seemed clear. It is not the first time that a fire has broken out in the same area, and there is a belief, without evidence, that what is happening is to get rid of the piles of waste at the expense of the health of the city’s people and their environment, according to what Ali Antar told “Nidaa” Al-Watan,” before adding, “Ask the young before the old. He says fire to get rid of tons of waste. It is a popular business or an intentional deficit. It makes no difference. We pay the price.”

While activist Rabih Al-Awji commented on the fire, saying, “Stop being disrespectful to our health and the health of our children.” Engineer Suhad Afara said, “So much!! Continuous fires for the mountain of waste! Continuous defense of a private company that destroyed people’s health! Waste of public money! No transparency! Launch a tender without screening conditions from the source! The plan of the Environment Committee in Sidon was thrown against the wall!

Mayor Muhammad Al-Saudi followed up on the details of the fire and gave his directions to work to quickly extinguish it, and he remained in direct contact with the head of the engineering and administrative department and the person in charge of the Sidon Fire Brigade, Ziyad Al-Hakawati, to see the efforts to extinguish it despite the limited capabilities.

Representative Abdul Rahman Al-Bizri contacted the Minister of Environment, Nasser Yassin, and demanded immediate action to support efforts to combat the fire and investigate its causes, warning that “the garbage mountain fire is an environmentally and health hazardous accident that may result in significant damage affecting the safety of the city’s residents and its environment, as it is clear evidence of The randomness of the waste file and the failure to follow it up by the responsible authorities and the management of the treatment center.

The Environment Committee of the “Sidon Confronts Initiative” denounced the continuous fires of the waste mountain near what remained of the waste sorting and treatment plant in Sidon, and called for a demand for the municipality to recover the plant according to the applicable laws. “This plant, which charges $95 per ton, is only paying the price of harming them health and environmental, and he accumulates waste and then burns it while he is not qualified to work, and if the argument to keep him is “there is no alternative”, then the environment committee in “Sidon faces” has developed a plan for the proper management of waste, and demands the municipality to recover the factory and restart it under the management of the municipality in cooperation with the private sector and within a contract Ensures proper handling, maintenance and development. And she warned against continuing to support the IBC company, as “all opportunities have been exhausted, and we have no confidence in them.”