Waste management has been a challenging area in Lebanon lately, the mis-management of the trash induced huge costs on the country as well as health and environmental damages.

In this panel we discuss the current situation, potential solutions, and awareness on waste management in general.

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We will host different experts in the field:
- Alexander Boustany - Froz

- Gaby Kassab - Ecoserv
- Georges Bitar - Live Love Recycle
- Khoder Eid - Green Track
- Nicole Gemayel - Bi-clean
- Ziad Abi-Chaker - Cedar Environmental

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About the speakers:

- Alexander Boustany - Froz

Alexander is the founder of Froz: Gamifying waste reduction.To increase conscious consumption, Froz ismaking it easier for you to get your hands on many eco-friendly products through a community-based eCommerce platform www.froz.me To make things more interesting, they are using gaming principles that:Track how much waste you've reduced ]Reward you with a variety of things you loveand Share your impact with the rest of the community

Through the activities, Froz built a strong community of 400 members by merging waste-reduction with your habits!The team behind this mission are the Frozbroz: A team of 4 complimentary millennials; Ray, Samer, James, and Alex. Together with an awesome community, Froz was able to help reduce 96 tons of waste! And looking forward for more ;)

- Nicole Gemayel - Bi-Clean

Nicole Gemayel was born in Bickfaya, Lebanon on 15 July 1968 in a family of politicians dedicated to public service.   Nicole attended the American University of Beirut majoring in political science and public administration. In 2011, Nicole founded the Bi-Bickfaya association aiming to promote and institutionalize  social events and economic activities in her hometown.  In 2015, following the central government's failure in waste management, Nicole founded Bi-Clean , the country’s first municipal waste management entity who's mission is to collect and sort waste, serving Bickfaya and neighboring villages.  The widely recognized success of Nicole in Bi-Clean and Bi-Bickfaya led to her election as mayor of Bickfaya and Mhaydsseh in May 2016. 

- Georges Bitar - Live Love Recycle

Georges Bitar is a social entrepreneur from Lebanon who founded the company Live Love Recycle in July 2015, as a reaction to the huge waste crisis the country was facing at that time. As Georges and his colleagues could not find any way to properly dispose their recyclables, the idea of an app that would facilitate this process was born. By using the app, citizens can request a pick up for their recyclables at their convenience. After a challenging time in search of funds for implementing Liveloverecycle the project kicked off in 2018.

The app is currently servicing more than 20.000 Beirutis and saved more than 1000 tons of waste from polluting the landfills and Mediterranean Sea. Live Love Recycle got plenty of media coverage and won several awards across the world, which allowed Georges’ team to travel the world, realizing that many countries are facing the same issues. In fact, more than 3.000.000.000 persons do not have access to a waste collection service and more than 90% of the plastic in the world is not being recycled.

This is why Georges and his team decided to take Live Love Recycle to another level, working on a new app that will allow to tackle this global issue. The Live Love Recycle App 2.0 will be the first crowdsourced recycling platforms. It will link all the stakeholders of the recycling process: the citizens, the collector, the recycling facility and the local authorities.

- Gaby Kassab - Ecoserv

Industrial Engineer by formation with a Masters degree in econometrics, and a PhD in Strategic Planning from Columbia University

His extensive technology related experience spanned over many years in CEO and EMEA Regional Director positions with large Hi-Tech Corporations (Data General, Nokia, QActive for smart Technologies,..) has provided him with a deep understanding of the many facets of electronics and other toxic waste, its intricate manufacturing, and what goes with it in challenges of proper end-of-life ecological disposal of such equipment.

He is the Founder and President of ECOSERV for Environmental Sustainability, an NGO focusing on sustainable electronic waste treatment. The NGO is currently among those leading the Climate for Change in Lebanon by offering services towards green CSR, through e-waste solutions and social awareness.

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- Khoder Eid - Green Track

Khoder Eid, following his studies in Management of Sustainable Innovation and Finance, khoder found himself pursuing a dream of a green social enterprise capable of promoting sorting at source while building social cohesion in unprivileged areas of Tripoli. His startup, Green Track, features a squad of "Green Women" going door-to-door to create awareness about waste management in sustainable way, sorting and recycling in the first 5000 HHsof his neighborhood - Jabal Mohsen, and a team of "Green Men" who collect the recyclables and bring them to the allocated factories.Since the success of the trial, Green Track has expanded regularly and is leading in the field of citizen-led sorting and recycling initiatives. The idea is to spread the project to the rest of Tripoli, especially Bab El Tebbaneh. The two neighborhoods which are regularly at war will socialize over trash problem solving. In 2021 Green Track, aim to create clubs for waste management that support local communities and authorities to implement sorting at source projects, and developing a new methodology for a sustainable waste management system in Lebanon.

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- Ziad Abi Chaker - Cedar Environmental

Ziad Abichaker is the CEO of Cedar Environmental, Lebanon, an environmental & industrial engineering organization.

He is an Environmental Engineer, Industrial Engineer, and is referred to as the “Master Garbage Man”.

He specializes in building municipal recycling facilities on the communal level going against the trend of a central mega recycling plant.

He has worked on several projects and researches resulting in developing fast composting technologies to produce high-grade fertilizer, building affordable recycling and composting facilities, developing a new technology that transforms plastic bags into solid plastic panels.

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Moderated by Randa Farah

Randa Farah is the founder of I Have Learned Academy &Lebtivity.com as well as a University Instructor at USJ.
Randa has an extensive track record in HR Management and Recruitment across multinationals in various industries. Her practical expertise is supported by her degrees in HR Management, Organizational Psychology & Business Advertising and Marketing. Her specialization is Happiness at Work, Stress and Wellness at work. In addition to being a corporate trainer, Randa has been an instructor at USJ for over 10 years in HR Management & Organizational Psychology Courses for Master students. Randa is an international speaker, sharing her passion for HR, Happiness at Work & Soft Skills at conferences & trainings across Europe, The Gulf and the Middle East.‍
She is also the founder of Lebtivity.com, calendar for events, keeping Lebanon updated about all types of cultural, sports, artistic, culinary, events in Lebanon.

Check also the page of Lebtivity related to waste management awareness & recycling: https://www.lebtivity.com/p/recycling-lebanon

Tickets are free, but booking is a must!

Places are limited, book here:

https://ihjoz.com/events/6030#checkout

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This session will be online from the comfort of your home.

This session is part of the Free Online Series Program done by I Have Learned Academy in collaboration with KAS: "Thoughts & Talks for a Better Lebanon"