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.