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Lawyers struggle to pursue legal action over trash burning in Lebanon

Even though trash burning is illegal in Lebanon, judges have failed to hold municipal heads accountable for allowing the burning of waste.
A car drives past burning garbage set on fire by residents, in Baabda near Beirut, Lebanon August 24, 2015. Lebanese protest organisers called for a fresh demonstration against the government on Saturday after two days of rallies that turned violent in central Beirut and wounded scores of people. The "You Stink" campaign has mobilised against the government's failure to solve a garbage disposal crisis, bringing thousands of people onto the streets in protests that have threatened the survival of the cabinet
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Over the past year and a half, piles of trash have episodically accumulated in Lebanon's streets due to cycles of waste mismanagement since the beginning of the country’s garbage crisis. To dispose of the encroaching waste, residents and municipalities have allegedly resorted to illegal trash-burning that puts the population at risk of severe health complications. Several lawsuits, filed by independent attorneys, have been taken up by Lebanon’s legal system, which rarely accepts cases on behalf of civilians. However, optimism is dwindling as cases drag on with little judicial action.

Starting in June 2015, the densely populated governorates of Beirut and Mount Lebanon were gripped by a garbage crisis when the Naameh landfill was closed without an alternative dump site, sparking widespread protests.

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