Naples' waste-collection agency says that by Friday it hopes to clear the mountains of trash that have piled up on the city's streets as a result of Campania's rubbish crisis.
ASIA-Napoli said it has brought the quantity of trash on Naples' streets to below 400 tonnes and aims to clear it on Thursday and the early hours of Friday.
But the situation in the rest of the province of Naples remains critical.
On Wednesday night fire-fighters worked constantly to put out blazing piles of rubbish set alight by frustrated locals.
Authorities have warned people not to burn the trash as it sets off toxic fumes.
Meanwhile in Rome, the House is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a government decree containing measures to combat the crisis.
The legislation identifies a number of sites in the region that can be used as rubbish tips while the emergency is brought under control.
The government is thinking of seeking a confidence vote to ensure the decree is approved.
Campania has suffered repeated trash emergencies in recent years but the current one has drawn international attention.
On Wednesday the European Commission started infringement proceedings against Italy over the handling of waste in the region.
The Commission stressed that the situation brought with it the "risk of the spread of illnesses and of air, water and soil pollution".
"The regional refuse-processing facilities are inadequate and present major risks for health and the environment" a statement from the EC said.
According to the EC, the situation "constitutes a clear violation of EU law".
Naples centre-left Mayor Rosa Jervolino Russo believes the only solution to Campania's recurrent trash emergencies is to build more incinerators.
But protesters have been fighting new incinerators out of fear they will not meet acceptable health and environmental standards in a region where refuse-disposal problems have already been linked to an increase in cancer deaths.
In the meantime, residents in Campanian cities and towns are regularly left with refuse piling up in the streets outside their homes for days on end, with nowhere to take it.
PROSECUTORS MAY PRESS CHARGES AGAINST REGIONAL PRESIDENT.
Neapolitan prosecutors said Wednesday that they will soon press charges against a number of people suspected of involvement in illegal businesses linked to rubbish processing in Campania.
They include Regional Government President Antonio Bassolino, suspected of alleged offences committed in his former role as the government's waste-emergency commissioner.
Prosecutor Camillo Trapuzzano claimed that illegal refuse-management practices had taken place "with the complicity and connivance of those who were obliged to control and intervene and who did not do so for too long".
Campania's rubbish crisis has a sinister side due to the involvement of the Neapolitan Mafia, known as the Camorra.
Trash disposal is one of the Camorra's most lucrative businesses and the organisation has created hundreds of illegal dumps in the region where it often buries or burns dangerous refuse.
Anti-mafia officials warned recently that the Camorra was actively sabotaging plans to build incinerators because it would undermine its dumping business.
According to Italian environmental organisation Legambiente, waste trafficking nets organised crime groups some 3.2 billion euros a year.
