Italy to face court over waste crisis

Edie.net: The European Commission is taking Italy to court for failing to effectively resolve the waste crisis that has plagued Naples and the surrounding region of Campania. Piles of rubbish were left uncollected in the streets in spring 2007 and again in the winter, leading some frustrated residents to set fire to the waste.

Although the crisis has eased since the appointment of a Waste Emergency Commissioner for the region, EU chiefs said the measures taken so far will not solve the crisis in the long term. Rome will now have to face the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and could be hit with massive fines for breaching the EU's Waste Framework Directive.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "The piles of uncollected rubbish in the streets of Campania graphically illustrates the threat to the environment and human health that results when waste management is inadequate.

…The Commission said Italian authorities have been unable to give a clear timetable for the completion and opening of landfills, incinerators and other infrastructure needed to resolve the problems in the tourist hotspot of Campania, which is home to the picturesque Amalfi Coast and the historic town of Pompeii.

Via Toledo in Naples, shot by "scalleja," Wikimedia Commons via flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License