EU team in Naples for garbage crisis as health risks rise
(ROME) - The EU sent a team of inspectors to garbage-strewn Naples on Monday to assess whether Italy remains in breach of European legislation regarding waste disposal management.
As piles of malodorous garbage continued to accumulate in the streets of Naples, the total amount of uncollected waste in the city was likely to reach 3,600 tons by the end of the day, the Italian press said.
As residents reported a rise in the numbers of rats, pigeons and seagulls in the garbage-infested streets, experts warned that the unresolved crisis was likely to result in a rise in infectious gastrointestinal diseases.
"There are serious health risks posed by strays, rats, cockroaches and other insects attracted to the garbage," Maria Triassi from the Italian Health Society told AFP.
Mayor of Naples Rosa Iervolino Russo said: "The city's not dirty, it's filthy. I'm really worried. I wish I could invent new powers for myself so I could actually do something."
Italy faces EU legal action and massive fines failing waste management improvement around Naples amid an ongoing garbage crisis aggravated by the closure of regional dumps after fierce protests from local residents.
"We're in a state of emergency," Stefano Caldoro, head of the Campania Region where Naples is, told Channel 5 television.
"The important thing is to come to an understanding as soon as possible, and guarantee transparency. But above all, we need to act quickly because we're 20 years behind in responding to this problem," Caldoro said.
Europe's highest court in March found Italy in breach of EU legislation for its failure to clean up the crisis.
Should the Commission decide to refer the matter back to the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice for a second time, and should it decide against Italy, the country would face a fine running into millions of euros.
The fines are calculated as a percentage of GDP, with day-by-day penalties added to a lump sum.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said he will travel to Naples as soon as possible to deal with the politically sensitive crisis.
Berlusconi, who is under pressure following a split within his coalition, returned to power in 2008 promising to sort out the long-running waste disposal problem in Naples once and for all.
On Thursday, Italy passed a decree aimed at speeding up construction of new processing plants and garbage incinerators and earmarked an extra 150 million euros (204 million dollars) of funds for the Campania region.