Italy Garbage

The European Union says Italy could face stiff fines if it continues to ignore the piles of garbage that remain uncollected around Naples.

Thousands of tons of garbage litter the streets of Italy’s third-largest city and its surrounding area despite weeks of protests by residents and repeated promises by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that the problem has been addressed.

A team of European Union inspectors visited the Campania region this week and said the garbage crisis continues to fester.

The European Court of Justice in March demanded that Italy implement a new waste management plan. Europe’s top court could fine Italy millions of euros if Rome keeps neglecting the problem.

Some information in this story was provided by AFP and Reuters.