Naples under 3,500 tonnes of garbage as strike endures

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

ROME (AFP) — 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...