Struth! Naples talks garbage

STRUTH !   

IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says holidaymakers and business travellers heading to the Italian city of Naples are being warned of a health hazard: thousands of tonnes of rubbish are piling up in the city streets because of a dispute over a new landfill site.

Protesters are allegedly blocking garbage trucks from doing their rounds, and residents and business houses whose bins and skips have filled are now simply dumping their refuse on the streets.

The new landfill site will reportedly be “the biggest in Europe,” with objectors saying their children will be forced to grow up in a “world of rubbish and health hazards.”

Local mayors have called for the scheme to be abandoned, but the Italian government says it will go ahead, and that any concerns about odours and health hazards are baseless.

The Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi says police are about to escort garbage trucks into Naples so that “all the rubbish in the streets will be removed within the next two weeks.”

And he’s been warned by the European Environment Commission that if its not, Italy will face huge fines for allowing the street pollution.