Lebanon rubbish: Storm dumps piles of waste along coast Published duration 23 January 2018

image copyright Getty Images image caption Heavy seas washed the debris on to beaches north of Beirut

A huge clean-up operation is under way in Lebanon after a powerful storm dumped piles of rubbish along beaches north of the capital, Beirut.

Pictures of the washed-up waste - much of it plastic - strewn along the coast have caused a public outcry.

Problems with rubbish are nothing new in Lebanon.

Environmentalists and politicians say the latest scenes show that more needs to be done.

image copyright Getty Images image caption Environmentalists say the rubbish comes from dumps dotted along the coast

Samy Gemayel, an opposition MP and the leader of the (Maronite Christian) Phalangist Party, said the waste had been washed into the sea from rubbish dumps along the coast.

He called for senior officials to be held to account.

"I am speechless as I see the tremendous amount of garbage that was forced here by last week's storm," he told a news conference.

"Whoever defended and allowed the establishment of landfills along the coastline is to be held responsible for this disaster."

image copyright Getty Images image caption Teams of workers have been drafted in to clean the beaches

image copyright Getty Images image caption The beach at the coastal town of Zouk Mosbeh was coated in a tide of waste

Joslin Kehdy, who heads the environmental group Recycle Lebanon, said the expansion of the landfill sites should be stopped.

"Were constantly cleaning up this beach," he told the Daily Star Lebanon. "Each time a storm comes this beach is filled with rubbish again."