Naples 'submerged' under growing rubbish piles
Pastor Dale Morgan
Naples 'submerged' under growing rubbish piles*
A lack of local incinerators means garbage is sent to landfill sites,
many believed to be controlled by the local mafia in a lucrative
black-market trade which sees toxic waste from the north of the country
illegally dumped.
by Staff Writers
Rome (AFP) June 11, 2008
Naples was struggling under 2,200 tonnes of rubbish Wednesday, as Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi made his weekly visit to the crisis-stricken
southern Italian city, newspapers reported.
The daily Il Mattino described Naples as being "submerged under rubbish
bags", and being "once again in an emergency situation."
Berlusconi made a campaign promise to visit Naples each week until the
problem with its garbage disposal which has been brewing for more than a
decade was sorted out.
But a tally by Il Mattino found more than 2,000 tonnes of undisposed
waste had accumulated in the city centre, with more in the suburbs and
greater Naples region.
That problem is being exacerbated by high June temperatures. Exasperated
residents have set fire to some of the mountains of rotting waste,
causing the Naples fire brigade to be called out on nearly 60 occasions
in a 24-hour period.
Speaking at a press conference before returning to Rome ahead of a
meeting with US President George W. Bush, Berlusconi said the crisis
could only be described as "madness which will never again" descend on
the city.
"But we have no choice other than to open new processing sites and to
build new incinerators. There is no other option," he added.
A lack of local incinerators means garbage is sent to landfill sites,
many believed to be controlled by the local mafia in a lucrative
black-market trade which sees toxic waste from the north of the country
illegally dumped.
Most landfill sites are now full and refusing futher deposits, whilst a
series of train freight shipments to Germany, which had agreed to
process some of Naples' waste, has slowed after the discovery of
radioactive waste.
Further tests are being carried out at a site in Chiaiano, designated by
the government as a possible future landfill location for around 700,000
tonnes of waste.