Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio has told southern Italy to pull up its socks on recycling, after its poor performance caused Italy to miss key waste targets.
On Tuesday National Environmental Agency APAT presented its 2006 report on waste management, which showed that Italy recycles 24% of its garbage, a long way from the target of 35%.
The report pinned the blame on the south, which recycles 8% of its waste, compared to 19% in central Italy and 38% in the north.
None of Italy's top 10 regions for recycling were from the south.
The worst-performing regions were Molise, which recycles just 5.2% of its trash, and Basilicata and Sicily, which both recycle 5.5%.
Furthermore, instead of making progress, some parts of the south are slipping. The province of Naples recycles 7.7% of its rubbish, down from 8.4% in 2004.
"The national performance cannot be pulled up by the north on its own," Pecoraro Scanio said.
"Our aim now is to take every town, province and region up to the 40% mark for recycling by the end of 2007".
Waste management is a major headache in Campania and other parts of the south, where trash emergencies regularly flare up.
Pecoraro Scanio said the government intends to invest heavily in recycling in southern regions, diverting EU funds for this less developed part of the country to "resolve the trash plague".
The minister also mentioned the problem of the so-called 'eco-Mafia': organised crime rings which illegally traffic and dump waste.
These Mafia organisations have developed sophisticated businesses that traffic waste via complex procedures and forged documents.
According to Italian environmental organisation Legambiente, waste trafficking nets the Mafia some 22 billion euros a year.
"The south has a big problem with criminal organizations, which are keen to get their hands on the refuse sector, especially toxic waste," Pecoraro Scanio admitted.
ITALY PRODUCING MORE TRASH.
Legambiente said the APAT report proved the time has come for the government to fine local authorities that fail to hit their recycling targets.
The report also showed that Italy is producing more and more trash. In 2005 the nation threw away 31.7 million tonnes of garbage, 1.6 million more than in 2003.
Italy's top recycling region is Veneto, with a recycling rate of 47.7%, followed by Trentino Alto Adige (44.2%) and Lombardy (42.5%).
The best cities are Padua, Turin and Prato, all above the 35% mark, while Brescia, Milan, Verona and Livorno have recycling rates of between 30% and 35%.
The Italian capital is not leading by example, recycling just 15.3% of its waste.
The Sicilian city of Messina has no recycling programme at all.
In the medium term, the government plans to take the national rubbish recycling rate up to 50% by 2009 and 60% by 2011.
