Seagulls over Ouzai: A Struggle for Food amid Plastic and Sewage

On the rocky shoreline of Ouzai, in southern Beirut, the early morning silence is broken by the cries of seagulls. Dozens of them circle and dive near the waves, their sharp eyes scanning the water for fish. But instead of the usual silvery flashes, they find dark plumes rising from a sewage outlet that pours directly into the sea.

Drawn by instinct and hunger, the birds descend closer, some pecking at floating scraps carried by the current. Around them, the shoreline is littered with an unsettling sight—mounds of plastic bottles, carried by stormwater and tides, piled against the rocks. Sunlight glints off the bottles like a false treasure, while the smell of sewage mingles with the salty breeze.

A fisherman, passing by with his net slung over his shoulder, shakes his head. “The sea no longer gives like before,” he mutters. “Even the birds are lost.” He points to a gull struggling with a plastic wrapper tangled around its beak, a stark reminder of how survival has become a daily gamble for marine life along Beirut’s coast.

For the seagulls, once proud scavengers of the Mediterranean, this polluted corner of the city has turned into a feeding ground of last resort. Their search for fish now leads them into waters thick with waste. Each dive is a risk—will they find nourishment, or will they emerge with their wings coated in filth?

The scene in Ouzai is not unique. It mirrors the wider struggle of Lebanon’s coastline, where untreated sewage and unmanaged plastic waste pour into the Mediterranean every day. Environmental groups warn that such neglect not only endangers marine biodiversity but also threatens human health, as toxins and microplastics seep into the food chain.

Yet amid the despair, the seagulls continue their aerial ballet, weaving between waves and trash. Their persistence is a reminder of resilience, but also a warning: without urgent action to restore the sea, the cries above Ouzai’s shore may one day fall silent.

Lebanon’s protracted solid waste management problems were aggravated over the past few years as a result of the financial crisis which reduced waste management to a bare minimum,  leading to inadequate collection and disposal practices. In addition, other factors, such as the lack of enforcement of waste management legislation, the growing littering behavior among citizens, and weakened local services in highly urbanized coastal areas have further aggravated the situation of the waste management system in Lebanon.

This situation has severe environmental consequences on the Lebanon’s marine and coastal areas. To better understand this issue, a comprehensive baseline assessment titled “Marine Litter Baseline in Lebanon – 2021” was conducted to identify the sources, pathways, and hotspots of marine litter in the country. The survey was funded by the PROBLUE Trust Fund and implemented by the World Bank in close coordination with the Ministry of Environment. It was conducted by the consortium Resources & Waste Advisory Group, MORES s.a.r.l and the Institute of the Environment at the Balamand University.

The baseline survey employed four methodologies to collect primary data on marine litter in Lebanon, including the Waste Wise Cities Tool (WaCT), the Waste Flow Diagram (WFD), the Standing-Stock survey, and the Accumulation survey. Terrestrial, beach, and marine surveys were conducted over two rounds, conducted in April and October 2021, offering insights into the quantity, composition, and seasonal fluctuations of marine litter. Shockingly, the surveys revealed that marine litter was present everywhere on the Lebanese beaches, with 76% of the items collected being plastics.