Protecting Health, Preserving the Environment: Lebanon Strengthens Healthcare Waste Management

January 23, 2026

Blue building with a covered entrance and a signboard above under a clear sky. — Photo: UNDP Lebanon

The Karantina healthcare waste treatment facility: A national step toward safer systems

Every day, hospitals, clinics, and laboratories across Lebanon save lives, but along with care comes a hidden challenge: hazardous healthcare waste (HCW). Infectious materials, pharmaceutical residues, and cytotoxic substances can pose serious risks to healthcare workers, patients, and surrounding communities when not properly managed. They also threaten soil and water resources, creating an environmental burden that extends beyond hospital walls.

Lebanon produces more than 12,200 tons of hazardous HCW each year, yet only 60% of infectious waste is treated, leaving nearly 5,000 tons untreated annually, alongside around 200 tons of pharmaceutical and cytotoxic waste. As healthcare services continue to expand, treatment needs are projected to increase by a further 4,400 tons per year over the next five years, placing additional pressure on already stretched systems.

A Practical Solution: The Karantina Facility

Against this backdrop, The Karantina healthcare waste treatment facility represents a major step forward for Lebanon’s healthcare system.

Established within Karantina Governmental University Hospital in Beirut, the facility provides a practical, system-level solution to a long-standing challenge. In a country facing overlapping health, environmental, and institutional challenges, the facility provides a practical solution: it enables public hospitals to safely manage hazardous waste, protects frontline workers, and ensures the continuity of essential services, even during crises.

Generously funded by the European Union (EU), and technically supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the facility was developed in close coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Environment.

Designed to serve Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the regions generating the highest volumes of healthcare waste, the facility treats up to 7 tons of hazardous waste per day, s. In doing so, It strengthens segregation, collection, and treatment processes across Lebanon’s healthcare system, which includes 183 hospitals, nearly 18,000 beds, and more than 750 laboratories, clinics, and research centers.

Voices from the Frontline

For healthcare workers, the impact is immediate and tangible.

According to Romy, a Midwife at Karantina Hospital, “having this facility today is crucial because the hospital sector in Lebanon is constantly growing and the need for proper treatment is essential. As healthcare workers, our role is to sort this waste correctly, and with this facility, we are more at ease, knowing that the waste will be treated properly.”

Hospital management echoes this shift. “We are very proud of this new facility,” added the hospital director Dr. Michel Matar.

"This building can accommodate the waste from surrounding hospitals, which has a big impact on public health. It will also generate additional income for the hospital, helping to ease our financial burden"

Dr. Michel Matar, Hospital Director

Protecting People and the Environment

By safely treating infectious waste, the Karantina facility reduces health risks, protects frontline workers, and prevents environmental contamination. Hazardous materials that once posed dangers to staff, patients, and nearby communities are now handled in a controlled, safe environment.

The facility also supports long-term planning, including a Healthcare Waste Master Plan, baseline assessments, and emergency measures to ensure hospitals can safely manage waste even during crises. By combining day-to-day safety with national-level preparedness, it strengthens Lebanon’s healthcare system and safeguards the environment for communities beyond the hospital walls.

A Step Toward Safer Systems

While further investments are needed to expand treatment capacity and strengthen regulatory frameworks nationwide, this facility stands as a critical milestone. It demonstrates what is possible when national leadership, international partnership, and local action come together to protect health, preserve the environment, and build safer, more resilient healthcare systems for communities across Lebanon.