Naples under 3,500 tonnes of garbage as strike endures
Pastor Dale Morgan
Naples under 3,500 tonnes of garbage as strike endures*
by Staff Writers
Rome (AFP) Jan 22, 2008
Just over 3,500 tonnes of uncollected garbage still clogged the streets
of Naples on Tuesday -- slightly down from 7,100 tonnes last week, when
the army first began intervening in the strike.
The southern Italian city and surrounding region has been under mounds
of rubbish since landfill sites reached capacity and garbage collectors
refused to continue their work.
At the origin of the escalating problem are mafia-controlled landfills,
where toxic waste from around the country is thought to be dumped
illegally in order to avoid paying for safer disposal.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has ordered the army to help clean
the streets of the port city and redirect convoys of garbage towards
other regions of Italy.
Numerous protests were organized in the outskirts of Naples on Tuesday
in reaction to a plan announced the day before to temporarily open, or
re-open, landfills in these areas to absorb the city's overflowing garbage.
Other protests took place in the city itself to protest the
accummulation of garbage in the streets and the disruption it is causing
to daily life.