Ahmed Kujuk inspects plastic sacks filled with oil-covered rocks and sand, some of which have split, that line a beach following an oil clean-up operation near an electricity station in Jiyeh.

Private beach owner Jean Nakhle, who lives with his wife and son only metres from some sacks, said he is tired of the debate on how to dispose of the waste. "We want them (the bags) to be cleared up," he said. "The smell is unpleasant because of the sun and also there is a risk of them catching fire." Lebanese environment ministry officials say they are examining all means of disposing of the waste. Environment ministry official Ghada Mitri said : "The cost of clearing up the waste and (to repair the) environmental damage was set at 203 million dollars (130 million euros), but Lebanon has only been able to raise eight percent, so due to the shortage of funds, the NGOs have not been able to remove the waste". Rima Tarabay, vice president of Bahr Lubnan, said her association had proposed giving the waste to the Lebanese branch of the Holcim cement works which had the ability to burn it, and which would not cost the state anything. "The ministry agreed, before going back on its decision," she said.

The ministry, which has only around 50 staff and a tiny budget, had to manage the problem because the bureau that handles natural disasters was still tackling the devastation left by the war. "The waste cannot be buried or burnt because Lebanon does not have landfill or furnace facilities which can handle toxic waste," Mitri said. "We have ruled out transferring the waste to an industrialised country with the expertise and equipment necessary to recycle it because the countries contacted have either refused or not replied," she said. "A feasibility study found we could not even use it as a base level for road building, because the waste was not of the standard required," she added. "We are now investigating the possibility of burying it in airtight containers after it has been treated."