The explosion that occurred in Lebanon, Beirut happened on the 4th of August this year. The blast happened due to the government’s negligence and put the region in a deeper state of crisis. Lebanon was already struggling with an increase of coronavirus cases. Investigators said that 7 years ago the Rhosus reached the capital’s port after having technical problems during a trip. The Rhosus had carried the ammonium nitrate which the authorities put in storage facilities. Lebanese authorities did not anticipate the dangers of storing the chemical in the warehouses for a longer period.
The blast claimed the lives of more than 120 people as many more suffered from great injuries. The explosion destroyed houses, businesses, and districts leaving the whole city in a great mess. Glasses and other wastes filled the city making it an eyesore. Volunteers came up to clean the city while other organizations decided to recycle the broken glasses and make good use of them.
The Explosion and Experience of Recycling the Glasses
According to reporters, they saw a man forcing spade loads of remains recovered from Beirut into a blast furnace. The people melt them down at a factory in Tripoli and later they re-materialize as molten glass. The new form is ready for recycling into ancient jugs.
Hammound is the deputy head at the United Glass Production firm. The deputy’s head says that organizations had brought over 20 tonnes of glass to the industrial unit.
Hammound says:
“Here we have glass from the Beirut blast. Organizations are bringing it to us so that we can remanufacture it.”
Aiding the Local Industry
Ziad Abichaker, the Chief Executive Officer of Cedar Environmental, has led several glass recycling projects in Lebanon. During the 1st days after the explosion, he cooperated with civil society associations and volunteers. This was to formulate a plan to keep most glasses out of landfills which the solid wastes had overloaded.
He says:
“We decided that at least part of the shattered glass, our local industries should benefit from as a raw material. We are diverting glass from ending up in the landfill, we are supplying our local industries with free raw material.”
The CEO further says that the blast destroyed over 4500 tonnes of glass.
The Progress of Glass Collection
At Base Camp, young people kitted out with strong shoes, masks, and heavy gloves were sorting out the glasses. They were pulling small pieces of waste out of the accumulated shards under a hot sun. Anthony Karim controls the operations.
Abdel Karim says that they target to locate other options of recycling the glass that isn’t appropriate to send to Tripoli. He said that they have just gathered and reused a small percentage of the glass.
The idea of recycling the glasses in Beirut is such a great idea. The local industries dealing with glass manufacturing will have the advantage and opportunity to access free raw material. On the other hand, the firms dealing with recycling will earn more money and more young people will find jobs during this pandemic.
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