Italy's trash problem isn't new -- which is why the country began exporting thousands of tons of garbage every day. Much of it ends up in Germany. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has an awkward problem. In Naples, the trash is piling up -- and all of Europe is pressuring him to find a solution. The trash is no longer just blocking the streets of the southern Italian city, but it is also being exported to other countries on a massive scale, mainly to Germany. PHOTO GALLERY: THE GARBAGE BATTLE OF NAPLES Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (17 Photos) Prodi's frustration is palpable. He says he wants to end "once and for all" a situation that for the last 14 years has returned again and again. Above all he would like Italy to be completely "self-sufficient in terms of garbage disposal." In other words, Italy must find an internal solution to its trash problem -- without help from abroad. But he has said that before. Almost a year ago, Prodi said there needed to be an end to the "trains of shame." The reference was to the trains that have been heading north to German incinerators for the last seven years -- each one made up of 22 cars loaded down with 500 to 600 tons of household waste.
Italy's trash problem isn't new -- which is why the country began exporting thousands of tons of garbage every day. Much of it ends up in Germany.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has an awkward problem. In Naples, the trash is piling up -- and all of Europe is pressuring him to find a solution. The trash is no longer just blocking the streets of the southern Italian city, but it is also being exported to other countries on a massive scale, mainly to Germany.
PHOTO GALLERY: THE GARBAGE BATTLE OF NAPLES
Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (17 Photos) Prodi's frustration is palpable. He says he wants to end "once and for all" a situation that for the last 14 years has returned again and again. Above all he would like Italy to be completely "self-sufficient in terms of garbage disposal." In other words, Italy must find an internal solution to its trash problem -- without help from abroad.
But he has said that before. Almost a year ago, Prodi said there needed to be an end to the "trains of shame." The reference was to the trains that have been heading north to German incinerators for the last seven years -- each one made up of 22 cars loaded down with 500 to 600 tons of household waste.
The Naples garbage crisis has not only spilled into surrounding areas and other Italian cities, it has managed to make it into Germany. However, the garbage has been officially received, albeit grudgingly. Germany has stepped in to help resolve the Naples rubbish crisis by accepting 30,000 tons of household waste from the Italian city. The port of Bremerhaven plans to dispose of the rubbish, just under a third of the total amount of waste which has piled up on the streets of Naples and its surrounding Campania region over the last two weeks. However, a spokesperson for the city government made it clear that the burning of the rubbish in a local waste incinerator would not become a regular occurrence and that Bremerhaven was not entering the international disposal business. "It was a one-off case of emergency aid," the spokesperson said. "It will not be extended." The 30,000 tons will be disposed of over the next six months. Bremerhaven has already dealt with 8,000 tons since local officials gave permission for the disposal action at the end of last year. The waste is transported by train from Italy to Germany.
Germany has stepped in to help resolve the Naples rubbish crisis by accepting 30,000 tons of household waste from the Italian city. The port of Bremerhaven plans to dispose of the rubbish, just under a third of the total amount of waste which has piled up on the streets of Naples and its surrounding Campania region over the last two weeks.
However, a spokesperson for the city government made it clear that the burning of the rubbish in a local waste incinerator would not become a regular occurrence and that Bremerhaven was not entering the international disposal business. "It was a one-off case of emergency aid," the spokesperson said. "It will not be extended."
The 30,000 tons will be disposed of over the next six months. Bremerhaven has already dealt with 8,000 tons since local officials gave permission for the disposal action at the end of last year. The waste is transported by train from Italy to Germany.
The reference was to the trains that have been heading north to German incinerators for the last seven years
Why can't German incinerators be set up in Naples, or at least in Italy, where the trash can be taken care of there? Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
Incinerators also have to be built and functioning. Given that they have been heavily financed and approved at all levels for years, the fact that they haven't been built indicates that permanent emergency, like perpetual war, is very profitable for most everyone- Germany included.
As far as Neapolitan victimism goes, to hell with it.
