Na'ameh

Imagine living near a trash dump so putrid that you would rather move to war-torn Syria.

That's what Fayyad Ayyash, his wife Riham and their four young daughters plan to do next week, leaving behind their home in Lebanon for neighbouring Syria.

Lebanon's cabinet on Sept.9 approved a plan to end a trash crisis that sparked unprecedented protests targeting the country's stagnant political class.

The humid summer air of Beirut has started to reek as uncollected trash piles up in the streets after protesters shut down Lebanon's largest landfill at a time of political paralysis.

Residents walking by the garbage spilling out of dumpsters and into the paths of passing cars lift their shirts or scarves over their noses to protect themselves from the smell.