Rome rubbish fiasco could soon be over

Anger amongst residents has been growing as the rubbish mounts up

ROME- Ignazio Marino, Mayor of Rome, has said that the city should be free of refuse within ten days after announcing that "the situation is definitely improving."

 In addition to a 30-strong team from Ama (responsible for refuse collection in the city) and 100 refuse collectors, Ama have also announced that from 15 July an extra refuse collector will be made available to the city, on loan from Bologna.

 Marino explained what this will mean for the citizens of Rome: “We will be able to process 300 tonnes of rubbish a day, or in other words, that means 5,400 rubbish bins can be emptied in one day, and be sent for disposal in incinerators in the North.”

 Absence from work has played a big part in the current rubbish-fiasco, with cuts in staff as well as 2,000 of the 8,000 employees taking leave to assist disabled family members, under law 104 exacerbating the situation. Daniele Fortini, president of the company, has promised to crack down on any abusal of this law.

 The Mayor warned citizens to be mindful of what they throw out, however, saying that throwing large items such as “mattresses” into bins may damage refuse disposal machines, putting them out of action, and thus jeopardising the refuse collection services of all citizens.