Germany Collecting Italy’s Mountains of Trash

The city of Naples, Italy has long had a trash problem. Crazy as it sounds, many in the region blame the mafia, who are said to have filled up local dumps with trash from other countries that they were paid to get rid of. How it got to be so bad in the first place is no longer all that important as the problem has now gotten so extreme, Germany has stepped in to help. The two countries cut a deal allowing Italy to get rid of 160,000 tons of trash by shipping it to Germany for incineration. Most of the waste comes from the Campania region, which includes Naples, the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. The trash in Naples, especially, has gotten to be a major health hazard, not helped by the fact that residents are starting to burn the trash in the streets, releasing toxic chemicals like dioxin into the air.

From ABC News:

The deal brokered by the two countries means that over the next three months three to four trains per week will arrive at the northern German town of Hamburg after a 45-hour ride all the way from southern Europe, each train bearing some 700 tons of refuse.

Up to 60,000 tons of trash will be collected from the streets of Naples alone, and another 100,000 tons will be made up of household waste from around the Campania area.
Other German cities, like Bremerhaven and Düsseldorf, are partners in the deal. They are sharing the trash in order to put their state-of-the art incinerators to work, but Hamburg can easily handle up to 3,000 tons per week in addition to managing its own trash.

The Italians are reportedly paying approximately $235 per ton, and paying for the transport as well. Hamburg officials admit that the city makes good money helping the Italians.

Germany is warning Italy that this is only a temporary solution, and that they must find other ways to get rid of their trash.

Gee, it’s too bad that there’s no way to cut down on the amount of trash that society throws away. Ironically, Germany had a similar problem years ago and tackled it in a sustainable way – Italy could learn a lesson from them. Germany’s waste management program is so successful, they have saved some 46 million tons of carbon per year since it was put into place in 2005.

Link [ABC News]
Photo credit: Time Magazine / Chris Warde-Jones / Bloomberg

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