It seems like every year there is some sort of garbage crisis in Lebanon, where landfill sites from cities spill into the Mediterranean Sea. A new movement, called #BalaPlastic mains to take aim at plastic, but to help fight against the problem of waste in general. While it seems like baby steps, look to any household garbage now in the Middle East. Bottles and bottles and plastic bags upon plastic bags. #BalaPlastic’s aim is to convince people to shy away from single-use plastic products like water bottles, cups, cutlery, and straws.
In Lebanon, only an estimated 10% of its garbage gets recycled. Alternatives?
Don’t buy bottled water. Make more real food, and eat less frozen, packaged junk. Bring your own bags to the store. Shop at a local greengrocer who doesn’t wrap veggies and fruit in easy to consume plastic coverings.
Actions that give local Lebanese hope are Greenpeace’s ship the Rainbow Warrior, which is travelling the Mediterranean Sea to countries like Greece, Italy and Spain to raise awareness on single use plastic. This plastic junk is impacting the future we all share. This report shows how terrible it all is. Thankfully organizations like Recycle Lebanon organize beach cleanups. See the gorgeous image taken from their last one in August from the Raouche Dalieh beach.
The group plans on growing bigger to is to make this the biggest ever beach clean up in Lebanon, with lots of NGOs, groups and individuals participating in cleaning up the beach and sorting out the plastic. Stay on top of what’s happening with plastics and Lebanon via Recycle Lebanon.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
