INNOVATIVE WASTE-MANAGEMENT

COULD DRIVE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN

LEBANON’S TRIPOLI
OCTOBER 13, 2021
topics: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
by: Katarzyna Rybarczyk
located in: Lebanon
tags: Lebanon, pollution, recycling, Waste Management
REPUBLISH THIS ARTICLE

As Lebanon is impacted by one of the most severe global

economic crises, items once considered worthless now
prove to be of value. Such is the case with plastic, which
can not only be a source of revenue, but also a driving tool
for social development.
This is demonstrated by the work of Green Track, a social enterprise
promoting the sorting of trash at the source and facilitating waste
collection and recycling in the north of Lebanon.
Green Track was founded four years ago in Tripoli, which is the
second-largest and poorest city in Lebanon.

Plastic in Tripoli is abundant, as the city is facing a waste crisis and

people do not know how to effectively manage their rubbish. Luckily,
thanks to the work of Green Track, there is hope that Tripoli will see a
cleaner, more sustainable future.

TRIPOLI IS DROWNING IN WASTE

Tripoli has been struggling with managing its waste for years, and as
the city, and Lebanon generally, lacks a comprehensive solid waste
management strategy, waste is piling up on the streets of Tripoli.

Currently, Tripoli’s inhabitants dispose of their trash in public

garbage bins, which are then emptied into a landfill in the north of the
city. The landfill reached its maximum capacity a few years ago, but
waste keeps being added to it.
Khoder Eid, the founder of Green Track explained that now waste
spreads across twelve meters over the landfill’s intended limit.
Consequently, trash and leachate coming out of it enter the Kadisha
river and the sea, polluting the environment.

This is not a new issue, however. Lebanon’s waste crisis began in 2015,
when a landfill in Beirut was closed after it reached its maximum
capacity and the government failed to put an alternative waste
collection strategy in place. In turn, tons of uncollected rubbish could
be seen along the highway and in the city centre.
An additional problem with the standard strategy for managing waste
in Tripoli is that the waste is not sorted. Garbage collectors get paid
based on how much waste they collect, but they receive no economic
incentive to sort the waste. That is a significant pro blem, as improper
waste disposal can not only lead to water and air pollution but can also
have a negative impact on the health of people living in the landfill’s
vicinity.

GREEN TRACK INTRODUCES NEW APPROACH TO

MANAGING WASTE
Green Track was established four years ago when Khoder Eid managed
to convince his family of the importance of ‘sorting at the source’. To
help him get his project off the ground, his mother and her friends
started a door-to-door awareness campaign during which they would
walk around the neighbourhood and talk to people about the benefits
of sorting their waste.

“As Green Track, we aim to address root causes of the garbage crisis
and create a culture of recycling,” Eid told FairPlanet.

Households that join Green Track’s mission rec eive recycling bags and
special bins needed to sort their waste. Green Track then collects them
every Monday and Thursday and takes the rubbish to the warehouse
where the waste is sorted and compressed.

Later, Green Track sells the recycled material to fa ctories that use it in
their production processes. Recently, Green Track also received a
shredder from COSV, an Italian NGO that supports humanitarian
projects and social enterprises in Europe, Afri ca, and the Middle East.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the capital to acquire it ourselves,” said
a Green Track volunteer named Jorne. He added that the organisation
“strives to sell shredded plastic and generate revenue by the end of the
year.”

Thanks to the new machine, the shredded plastic can be sold at a

higher price, further increasing Green Track’s ability to raise
awareness and reduce the environmental degradation of North
Lebanon.

GREEN TRACK IS TRANSFORMING TRIPOLI

While Green Track’s primary mission is to promote sorting at the
source and help people manage their waste better, the organisation
also has a wider social impact objective. Firstly, it employs women,
marginalised men and youths. For women, working for Green Track
empowers them and reduces their dependence on men. For
unemployed men, it is a chance to earn an income and change their
position in society. As for the youth, Green Track equips them with
professional skills that will help them find good employment in the
future.

By working in former conflict zones in Tripoli, Green Track hopes to

release tensions between communities living in the Bab al -Tabbaneh
and Jabal Mohsen neighbourhoods and encourage them to work
together.

To show people that their participation in the organisation’s mission

matters and in order to support them, Green Track gives something
back. Families receive, for example, washing liquid and leaflets
explaining how to correctly sort their waste.

“As Green Track grows, in the future maybe we will be able to give
families rice or other incentives,” said Jorne.

GREEN TRACK’S MISSION DOES NOT COME WITHOUT

OBSTACLES
Over the last four years, Green Track has grown significantly. It now
employs around 19 people and works with around 200 households.
Altogether, it collected around 100 tons of waste. The impact Green
Track has had on communities living in Tripoli is significant, but each
day the organisation is dealing with numerous challenges that slow
down progress.

Due to the current electricity crisis in Lebanon, machi nes used to

compress and shred plastic bottles are only operational for around one
hour a day. Furthermore, the fuel crisis has made collecting waste
from households difficult, and Green Track has to resort to bicycles.

Additionally, many Lebanese either do not think there is any harm in

throwing away plastic bottles and other waste on the ground or they
do not see the point in sorting trash at the source. Changing people’s
mentality and raising awareness about the benefits of a more
sustainable approach to managing waste is proving to be a challenging
task.

On top of that, there is the issue of raising funds for Green Track’s
operations. The organisation runs on the profit it generates from
selling processed waste and grants offered by the European Union .
Money is needed to buy machines and enhance infrastructure for the
treatment of collected waste. In the absence of financial help from the
government, securing more funding from the EU is needed.

Khoder mentioned that ‘Raising awareness, giving people the right

tools, and organising the collection process, it all goes together but the
right infrastructure is needed and for that Green Track needs to have
adequate funding.’ Still, filing and submitting app lications for available
grants can be a complex process.

The work of Green Track demonstrates that proper recycling can save
Tripoli from drowning in waste and serve as a driver of positive social
change, as it encourages the residents of Tripoli to adopt more
sustainable practices while opening new opportunities to marginalised
demographics. With sufficient support and recognition, Green Track’s
model could affect change well beyond Tripoli.

Image by: Katarzyna Rybarczyk

https://www.fairplanet.org/story/innovative-waste-management-could-drive-social-development-in-leban
ons-tripoli/