Reframing environmental problems: lessons from the solid waste crisis in Lebanon

This research seeks to examine the fundamental environmental management principles that have been violated and how their adoption may remediate solid waste management practices in Lebanon. The study will enrich the more traditional approaches to assessing environmental problems by identifying the factors facilitating and impeding improvement in some contexts but not others. The root cause analysis methodologies were utilized to systematically disclose the underlying components that contribute to the impairment of contemporary solid waste structures. The principles of subsidiarity, precautionary, and cost internalization are in direct correlation with the identified root causes and are capable of propagating the beneficial outcomes associated with integrating environmental management perspective into the strategic planning process. Integrated and sustainable waste management strategies that aim to rectify the intrinsic dysfunctionalities of contemporary structures should be developed from the bottom-up and ought to adopt a precautionary approach to management, while utilizing economic measures to finance operational costs.