A strike by refuse collectors fearing that their temporary contracts will not be renewed overlapped over the past few days with a protest by the citizens of Terzignano, a town south of Naples, who oppose the use of a rubbish dump near their homes and the opening of a new one in the area.

Tensions escalated late on Thursday and into the early morning on Friday as for the third night in a row, a group of more than 2,000 protesters tried to stop the passage of garbage trucks heading towards the dump.

Police tear-gassed protesters who hit back by throwing stones, an AFP photographer reported.

"For the fist time there was a physical confrontation between police and protesters," the press office of Naples' police told AFP, adding that one policeman was lightly injured in the clash.

Over the past few days, protesters had damaged garbage trucks, "shattering windows or slashing tires after making drivers get out," police said.

The Naples area was under a "waste disposal state of emergency" from 1994 until late last year.

In 2007, Naples came under the international spotlight after tens of thousands tons of rotting rubbish accumulated in the city's streets.

In March, Europe's highest court slammed Italy for its failure to clean up rubbish during that crisis, causing "danger to human health and damage to the environment."

The long-running issue has been blamed on a lack of local incinerators, and landfill sites controlled by the local mafia, the Camorra, some of which were used for illegal dumping of toxic waste.

A new incinerator opened in the area in March 2009.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up

More help sought for UN peacekeepers Asia struggles to cope as storms spread destruction Unrealistic to expect immediate quake recovery in Haiti: US Millennium Development Goals seek end to poverty, hunger Japan to pilot digital textbooks in classrooms Gates tops list of richest Americans, Zuckerberg 35th FCC frees up spectrum for super-fast wireless Newspaper publishers want control over iPad subscriptions Ocean Cooling Contributed To Mid-20th Century Global Warming Hiatus China top in world seafood consumption: study Europe agrees to create marine protected areas Desert Dust Cuts Colorado River Flow Putin says Arctic must remain 'zone of peace' Iceland calls for end to 'Cold War' tension over Arctic Russia, Canada trade rival Arctic claims Glaciers Help High-Latitude Mountains Grow Taller Uruguay agriculture gets a Singapore sling Japan's vending machines sell cool bananas, read minds Rotating High-Pressure Sodium Lamps Provide Flowering Plants For Spring Markets New Blueberry Recommended For Home Gardeners Typhoon Fanapi kills 54 in China: state media Tropical storm Matthew makes landfall in Central America Open flood gates displace two million in Nigeria UN demands 180 mln dollars to feed Pakistan flood victims French troops sent to Niamey after kidnappings: sources Mauritanian troops battle Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Mali Kenya may be lifeline for new Sudan state Termites Foretell Climate Change In Africa's Savannas Critics urge pressure as China one-child policy hits 30 Outside View: Please fence me in Study: More credit due to Neanderthals A Chip Off the Early Hominin Tooth