The trash crisis which has plagued Naples for months has reached the shores of the idyllic Isle of Capri where local authorities are threatening to close the port on the verge of the summer tourist season.
Capri Mayor Ciro Lembo and Anacapri Mayor Mario Staiano have sent urgent letters to Civil Protection Chief Guido Bertolaso, who was appointed special commissioner to deal with the refuse crisis. They have also contacted the heads of the local provincial and regional governments asking that Capri be allowed to send its garage trucks outside of the region.
Trash has already begun to pile up along the island's picturesque streets and the mayors on June 2 were instructed to keep collected refuse on the island until suitable dump sites could be located.
The main dump site in the Naples area was closed because it was overfilled. Last month Rome approved an emergency decree to create four additional sites in the surrounding region of Campania but progress has been blocked by protests from people living near the proposed sites.
Campania's rubbish crisis also has more sinister overtones 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 22 billion euros a year.
