The Minister of Environment in the caretaker government, Nasser Yassin, launched the "Clean Your Country" campaign in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, municipalities, and civil society organizations to raise environmental awareness and support municipalities in cleaning their cities, towns, and forests. This campaign began this morning, Sunday, from the waterfront of Beirut at "Zaitunay Bay," in cooperation with the Beirut Municipality, and will extend for approximately 100 days, covering various regions with the help of municipalities and civil society organizations.
The Minister of Environment explained, "The launch of this campaign today is for awareness and carries a specific symbolism. We do not replace the municipalities, which have the primary role that they are supposed to fulfill to serve citizens through laws and regulations or even through the support that people can provide." He pointed out, "We are working on amending laws to enable them to fulfill their role in public cleanliness. We see a collapse in waste management in some cities and municipalities, so this cooperation and solidarity that we see today with the Beirut Municipality and civil society is important."
He spoke about "similar cooperation with municipalities and associations to carry out environmental initiatives in all forested areas, beaches, and cities, including Tripoli, Sidon, and Jounieh." He also said, "We collaborate with associations on the level of forests and we call on citizens to come together to clean our woods, forests, roads, and beaches from things that mar the beauty of our country, to raise awareness and stop the phenomenon of littering on roads. I know the difficult situation of municipalities and contractors, but we must send a message to prevent this random dumping of waste and work on empowering municipalities through laws, legislation, and funding so that they can fulfill their duties."
