Sorting through the Trash: The Waste Management Crisis in Southern Italy

Abstract

In recent years, waste collection and disposal have met unprecedented challenges in southern Italy. Illegal dumping is widespread, and waste trafficking is a key activity of organised crime. At the same time, landfills approach capacity. Yet, the transition to industrial treatment and recycling is slow. This paper examines the political reasons for a delay that deeply impacts on citizens' welfare, with a focus on the regions of Campania and Sicily. After tracing the process of elite decision-making, it argues that while the two regions face different institutional features the crisis is explained in both cases by institutional proliferation, clientelism and fragile executives favouring political expedience over technical expertise.

Keywords:

• Organised Crime
• Garbage Collection
• Naples
• Sicily
• Public Policy
• Corruption

Acknowledgements

I thank the journal editors and the anonymous referees for their helpful suggestions.

Notes

[1] Testimonies span nearly two decades; see for example XIII Legislatura (1997).

[2] Data from Eurispes and Legambiente in Ravidà 1995.

[3] Antonio Bassolino, Porta a Porta, RAI 1, live broadcast on 7 January 2008.

[4] CIP6 reflects a 1992 ruling by the Comitato Interministeriale Prezzi (Inter-ministerial Price Committee), which establishes incentivised prices for energy produced with renewable sources. Italy includes incinerators among such sources in defiance of EU regulations.