Lebanon's Post-War Cleanup: A Daunting Task

Ahmad Mehdi, 20, has been living in a partially destroyed home since October. An Israeli airstrike in his Beirut neighborhood flattened the building next door, reducing it to a pile of rocks, dirt, and steel. His own home, on the fifth floor, lost its kitchen and living room. He and his family are eager to repair their home, but the huge amount of debris is a big problem. "We can't even start until we figure out where to put all this rubble, " Mehdi said. Lebanon is now facing a massive cleanup challenge after a year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah ended with a fragile cease-fire. A report by the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon estimates that around 3, 000 buildings in the Dahiya area of Beirut were destroyed or severely damaged. The scale of the destruction is overwhelming, with entire floors of buildings reduced to rubble. Clearing the debris is a critical step before rebuilding can begin. However, there's a major logistical hurdle: where to put all the waste. The cleanup process is slow and complicated, hindering the recovery efforts. Lebanon needs to find efficient ways to manage and dispose of the debris to move forward with reconstruction.