EU urges Italy to clean up its act as the rubbish piles up in Naples

THE EUROPEAN Commission has warned Italy it may face sanctions if it doesn't remove 2,000 tons of rubbish that have piled up in the streets of Naples in the country's latest garbage crisis.

For over a week, protesters in Terzigno, a small town near Naples, have torched vehicles, burned Italian flags and hurled stones and firecrackers at police to protest at the stench and filth at a local dump, as well as plans to open a new one in Vesuvio National Park.

Clashes continued on Friday night and residents around Naples set fire to heaps of trash. The situation was calm by yesterday afternoon.

European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said the violence between residents and police over where to dump Naples' waste showed that Italy hasn't taken sufficient measures since the last garbage crisis flared in 2007. Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi, has promised a swift solution to the mess, saying the government will take over management of the dump and pledging 14 million in compensation to residents.

Naples and the surrounding areas have suffered refuse crises for years, the result of corruption, poor management and infiltration by the local mob. Three years ago, Berlusconi intervened to help ease an emergency caused when collectors stopped picking up rubbish because the dumps were full and residents were protesting over the creation of new ones.

Potocnik said the latest pile-up showed that the government still hadn't taken definitive measures to resolve the garbage problem.

"The Campania Region still has no waste management plan and the Acerra incinerator, the only one existing in Campania, is not functioning properly and (is) at full capacity," Potocnik said.

"This means that in Campania, the authorities are able to carry out a program to neither dispose of the old baled waste nor to manage the new daily waste production."

In March, the European Court of Justice found that Italy was in breach of EU rules for having failed to set up a sufficient waste disposal infrastructure. Potocnik warned that sanctions could be next.

Rubbish tsar Guido Bertolaso, chided the EU. "The EU would do well to do its job and, rather than pass judgment, give us a hand to find an alternative," he said.