Environmentalists Happy With Naples Garbage

Environmentalism is so kooky in Italy that they refuse to allow anyone to build new landfills to dispose of garbage.  This is stupid and dangerous, and will likely cause outbreaks of diseases in Naples, where they have stopped collecting garbage. 

From the AP here:

Residents of Naples have begun burning heaps of garbage that have piled up for more than a week, adding potentially toxic smoke to the foul smell permeating the city, officials said Monday.

Mounds of trash have piled as high as 10 feet in some places and blocked entire streets. Collectors had stopped hauling it away because they have nowhere to take it.

The southern Campania region – home to the luxurious Amalfi Coast but also the slums of Naples – has been plagued by garbage crises in recent years. Dumps fill up, and local communities block efforts to build new ones or create temporary storage sites. In 2004, the garbage crisis prompted weeks of protests.

Fire brigades said they have extinguished more than 150 fires in and around Naples since Sunday, believed set by residents trying to dispose of the trash. The burning of chemicals has added to the already putrid smell of garbage.

The government recently approved construction of more dumps in the area, but there have been delays in getting them operational.

In 2004, the problem began when the city did not build two large incinerators after locals and environmentalists protested, fearing increased pollution. Meanwhile, the city’s landfills reached their limits, and neighboring communities refused to take the Neapolitans’ garbage. Short of options, city trash began piling up.

So environmentalists don’t like pollution eh?  How does a city full of decaying filfth sit with the self-righteous eco-religionists?  An outbreak of a nice plague should take some environmentalists to the grave.

Here in the United States waste management is efficient, clean, and a good source of power.  That there are modern cities around the world that refuse to properly dispose of trash because of environmental fears is ridiculous and absurd.  Such residents deserve what they get.