Greater Beirut Waste Treatment
Towards an integrated waste management approach
Project description
The project was the first attempt of the Lebanese government to move towards an integrated solid waste management system. It incorporates the design, construction and operation/maintenance of a series of waste management facilities for handling the municipal solid waste generated from the Greater Beirut Area and Part of Mount Lebanon where 50% of the country’s population resides.
In terms of components, the project consisted of:
- Two mechanical sorting facilities located in the northern and southern suburbs of the city of Beirut. Together, the two plants include a total of 9 sorting lines for the recovery of recyclables from the incoming commingled waste stream while retrieving the organic fraction to be composted.
- A tunnel composting facility with a capacity of 750tons/day where the organic fraction recovered from the sorting facilities undergoes aerobic biodegradation to produce compost;
- A warehouse for the storage of the recovered recyclables before selling them to interested customers.
In terms of capacity, the 9 existing sorting have been operated over their design capacity. Currently, the 9 lines are being upgraded and the facilities’ efficiency and capacity will be optimized through the construction of 4 additional lines to increase their capacity to a total of 4,200 tons of waste per day. This is expected to increase the percentage of recovered recyclables and improve the quality of organic materials to be composted, thus reflecting positively on the quality of compost to be generated.
The brief
The CDR aimed to achieve the following objectives:
- Controlling the chaotic waste management situation in Beirut following the end of the Lebanese civil war;
- Operating the sorting facilities in accordance to the relevant norms and standards;
- Ensuring the additional sorting lines sites are designed and constructed in the EU standards;
- Controlling the impacts of the project on the environment
Our response
Laceco responded to the above objectives by:
- Supervising the day to day operation and maintenance activities
- Preparing the detailed design studies for the upgrade works of the existing sorting facilities and the new planned facility
- Supervising the upgrade works of the existing lines and construction of the new additional lines (works currently under execution).
- Managing the contract on behalf of the Client
Interesting facts
- The facilities are operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- The data management system of all sites including the sanitary landfills is designed in such a way that allows the accurate tracking of all incoming/outgoing vehicles.
