The Problem of Waste Disposal in a Large European City

Constantly at the center of media attention, the waste disposal issue in Naples raises questions such as: What did actually happen? Is Italy as a whole threatened by a garbage crisis? If so, what would be a possible route to avoid it? Is the case of Naples a lesson for other countries? What is the truth regarding waste recycling? How much of our waste can actually be recycled? Where does non-recycled waste end up? What impact do waste-to-energy plants have on our health and the environment? This book is a dialogue on a thorny but vital issue, starting from the Naples events to extend to Italy and Europe. The two authors of this book - an environmental historian and a waste management expert of international standing - engage in a straightforward and serene discussion, resulting in a one-of-a-kind work that leaves bias and ideology at the doorstep to lucidly examine the complexity of waste management, from the local to the international level. This complexity is a consequence of the speed at which our society has developed and the inability of our ruling classes and administrators to keep up with its frenetic growth rate. North and South Italy has answered in different way to these problems. Hence the need for a debate on the real problems posed by the management of collective property and environmental resources, giving up once and for all false rhetoric and the quest for easily won consensus. To conclude, the authors look at future prospects, suggesting some practical solutions.