BEIRUT — A military escort accompanied garbage trucks to the controversial Naameh landfill over the weekend as they hauled some of the 8,000 tons of waste that has been collected from Lebanon's streets, local media reported.

Authorities reopened the dump as a temporary measure to rid the country's neighborhoods of mounds of trash that have accumulated since the landfill closed in July after protesters claimed it constituted a significant health hazard. People now fear the garbage-laden streets pose a more immediate threat of disease and environmental damage. Under the government's short-term plan, workers began removing piles of garbage March 19, The Daily Star reported, but the public is calling for a long-term solution.

The crisis began building in July 2015 when authorities closed the Naameh landfill, where all of Lebanon's waste had been dumped since 1991. Also that month, the government's contract with its waste-management company, Sukleen, expired. Sukleen continued to round up trash from street corners but did not treat it chemically. People began creating their own dumps on empty land and vacant lots. In February, Sukleen said it would have to stop collecting trash altogether because there was no place to put it.

Naameh residents had launched a campaign in early 2015 to get the dump closed in accordance with the Council of Ministers' decision issued in July 2014. Protesters staged sit-ins and blocked roads. Citizens launched a series of popular movements, notably the “You Stink” and “Badna Nhasib” (We Want Accountability) campaigns, as did a number of environmental organizations.