Italy warned over mounting waste crisis[fr][de] 

Italian and international press report that rubbish has been piling up since May on streets in cities and towns across the Italian region of Campania, and desperate residents have begun burning piles of waste on the streets to alleviate smells and invasions by rodents. In Campania, waste disposal is a lucrative business controlled in large part by the 'Camorra' mafia, which is known to have been undermining the construction of environmentally sound landfills and incinerators for decades, because these would undermine the profitability of its illicit operations, press reports claim.

According to the Financial Times, the situation is made worse by internal divisions in Italy's government that threaten to block a resolution to the crisis: an 11 May decree by Prime Minister Romano Prodi's centre-left government to open a new landfill was blocked by Italy's environment and social-solidarity ministers.

Waste crisis are not new to Campania, and the World Health Organization (WHO) reports increasing health problems for citizens of the region due to improper handling and incineration of waste. 

During a recent interview with EurActiv, MEP Caroline Jackson, rapporteur for the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, spoke of a "North-South divide" with respect to waste management in the EU. Compared with northern European countries, particularly Denmark, Ireland, the UK and Germany, numerous illegal disposal sites and incinerators remain in use in Southern Europe, and accurate figures for recycling and recovery are difficult to obtain, according to the MEP. Jackson is looking in particular to France, as the "big incineration country", to provide leadership on the issue for member states that are lagging behind.  

In related news, Italy was also sent a final warning by the Commission over its incomplete transposition of the Water Framework Directive. The Commission may decide to bring the case before the Court of Justice if Italy does not comply within two months.

And, in a flurry of legal activity, the Commission took action against 11 other member states over poor implementation of EU environmental laws. The Flanders region of Belgium was sent a final warning for its failure to implement environmental assessment safeguards, Austria will be brought before the European Court of Justice because it did not designate a sufficient number of sites under the EU Habitats Directive, and court cases await Austria, Poland and Germany for infringements to the Birds Directive, with several new member states to be sent first warnings for similar transgressions.