For those who cannot afford beach club or resort entry fees, public beaches are the only option to enjoy the sun and sand in Lebanon. Unfortunately, the majority of these spaces are unmanaged and unsupervised. As a result, you can see people swimming and fishing amongst floating trash. While it is certainly a horrid sight—which lessens the attractiveness of any beach day—the hidden pollution in the form of untreated sewage renders a significant portion of the sea around Lebanon unsafe to swim in. The responsibility for managing these beaches and the waste on the shore falls to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. The ministry did not respond to Executive’s requests for interviews, but Jean Beiruti, the head of the syndicate of seaside resort operators, said the ministry does not have the budget to manage public beaches and has left them without supervision or maintenance. As such, it seems that those who lack the funds are destined to either swim among the trash, or take matters into their own hands by not littering and cleaning up after themselves.

Executive Magazine