Sidon Municipality rejects the waste plant's blackmail of the city: a report filed with the Southern Prosecutor and a complaint at the police station are awaiting court's decision

For the past two days, the Saida Municipality has been closely following the developments resulting from the halt of the solid waste treatment plant in receiving waste from the Saida-Zahrani Municipalities Union, which led NTCC company to stop collecting waste, causing it to pile up in the streets of the city and the union’s towns. From the very beginning, the municipality initiated a series of calls and meetings with the relevant authorities to address this issue and prevent its negative impact on the city and its residents. Saida Municipality emphasizes that the waste treatment plant is a public utility, and any stoppage in its operation or in receiving waste goes against the principle of continuity of public services, threatens environmental and health safety, and exposes the city and its surroundings to serious risks that cannot be accepted under any circumstances. The municipality also believes that resorting to stopping waste reception whenever a financial or administrative dispute arises between the plant and the concerned parties is an unacceptable practice that results in burdening citizens and municipalities with the consequences of conflicts they have nothing to do with, putting public interest and health at risk. Based on its legal and ethical responsibility to protect the city and its residents, the municipal council decided to take measures. The necessary legal measures were taken, so the Acting Mayor of Sidon, Dr. Ahmad Akra, along with several mayors from the Sidon-Zahrani Municipal Union, filed an official report with the Public Appeal Prosecution in the South before Judge Zahir Hamadeh. An official record of the incident was also organized, and the necessary report was submitted to the Sidon police station, and the case was placed in the hands of the competent judiciary to take the appropriate legal action.  

Sidon Municipality emphasizes that the accumulation of garbage in the streets or exposing the city to any new environmental crisis is absolutely unacceptable and a red line that will not be crossed. They stress that they will continue to take all necessary legal and administrative measures to protect public health and the environment and safeguard the public interest. They will follow up on this matter until a sustainable solution is found to ensure that such crises do not happen again in the future.

Date

Thu, Jun 25, 2026

Tags

Health and Environmental Affairs Committee