Jingle Bells, Our Trash Smells

Wendy Angel

The holiday season normally brings on a rash of festive decorations, but this year, Beirut's halls were decked with trash. Members of Greenpeace erected a 6-meter-tall “tree” of cans, computer waste and plastic in Martyr's Square, where a real Christmas tree normally is placed each December. The group constructed the tree in protest of Lebanon's growing problem of overflowing landfills and low recycling rate. The environmental group wants the nation to adopt a zero-waste strategy, where all of the nation's trash is recycled or composted. The Lebanese government says it is drafting a law to do just that. So perhaps next year, after the new law goes into effect, the government should think about recycling some of its trash into next year's holiday decorations … you know, for old time's sake.

Source: Reuters.com