BEIRUT: Garbage piled up on the streets of the capital and other parts of the country over the weekend, with waste collectors still unable to address the problem due to an ongoing sit-in by activists at the landfill serving Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

Places such as Hamra and Hay al-Sellom were among the many Beirut areas to be affected by the pile up of garbage on streets. The Mount Lebanon area was also affected.

Sukleen, the private firm responsible for sweeping and cleaning the streets of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, said Saturday its work has been hampered since Friday by the sit-in at the Naameh landfill, some 15 kilometers south of the capital. In a statement, the company apologized to citizens, saying the blocking of roads leading to the landfill was preventing the collection of garbage. “The sit-in outside the Naameh landfill and the preventing of trucks from emptying garbage ... led to the piling up of waste,” Sukleen said in the statement. [Link]