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Italy PM tackles garbage crisis

by cynthia yoo | May 21, 2008 at 08:44 am

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UPDATE: 17:20 GMT PM rolls out emergency measures against garbage crisis.

Following his Cabinet meeting, Berlusconi announced emergency measures to tackle the rubbish problem, describing it as a "natural disaster."

The PM also vowed to take a harder stance on illegal migrants.

Silvio Berlusconi said landfill sites will be classified as of strategic national interest, guarded by soldiers.

Angry residents have taken to burning the piles of rotting waste, which have littered the streets for months.

After a cabinet meeting held in Naples the government also announced tough new measures against illegal immigrants.

The measures, which have to be approved by parliament - where Mr Berlusconi has a solid majority in both houses - would make it a jailable offence to be an illegal immigrant.

Italy's new Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is holding his first Cabinet meeting in Naples to highlight garbage disposal problems that have plagued the city and its surrounding Campania region.

The waste problems in Naples and the surrounding Campania region were a big issue in Berlusconi's campaign earlier this year.

Streets around the city center and along the Cabinet members' planned route have been cleaned for the meeting Wednesday. A dreary rainfall is washing away the months-old stench, but rubbish remains at the top of the day's agenda.
The council of ministers, as the Cabinet is called, is expected to announce 10 new dump sites and €10 million ($15.7 million) in emergency funds to deal directly with garbage-related health concerns.

The money will be used primarily to set up a task force of about 200 doctors who will monitor the region's health situation and deal with possible emergencies, the government said.

Berlusconi is also expected to name a new "garbage czar" to deal with the problems. Former Prime Minister Romano Prodi named a garbage czar in January, and it was unclear whether the new appointee would replace the old one or the two would work together.

While central Naples is largely clear of trash, the situation in the surrounding areas -- especially the city's outskirts -- is dire. Tens of thousands of tons of uncollected garbage remain piled up on streets and in alleys and the odor permeates the air.

The problems have been around in some form for nearly 15 years, but they flared December 31 when the Italian government closed one of the area's two working dumps at the request of nearby residents.

That led to trash piling up on city streets, and some schools were closed to protect children from the noxious fumes.