News Analysis: Growing garbage crisis in Rome born from political battles, experts say

Political bickering over a stewing garbage crisis in Rome is attracting criticism from the city's residents and sparking health and environmental concerns from those living near current waste disposal sites.

Waste issues are not new to the Italian capital. But with the summer approaching -- bringing more tourists to Rome, along with weather hot enough to make uncollected garbage produce a foul smell quickly -- the subject produced a high-profile round of finger pointing between Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi and Nicola Zingaretti, governor of Lazio, the Italian region that includes Rome.

In the latest back and forth between the two leaders, Raggi said Zingaretti has failed to approve a waste disposal scheme she sent him, while Zingaretti said Raggi never sent him any proposal.

"In typical fashion for Italy, a serious problem is made worse by political fights," Gian Franco Gallo, a political affair expert with ABS Securities in Milan, told Xinhua. "The only way to solve a problem is to put aside political priorities and work together before things get out of hand."

Between 2008 and 2010, the city of Naples, around 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Rome, suffered from an endemic garbage collection crisis that had negative health and environmental impacts in the area.

The situation in Rome is still far from the levels that impacted Naples starting nearly a decade ago. But it is already taking a measurable toll.

Some tour companies have reported, for example, that the negative publicity related to the garbage crisis has led to some tour cancellations.

Alessandro Coltre, a waste analyst with aSud, an environmental group, said the situation is already having health and environmental impacts out of Rome, near over-taxed waste disposal sites.

"In Rome people are talking about how bad things could become, but in the areas around waste disposal sites the quality of life is already feeling an impact," Coltre said in an interview.

The problems are gaining a high profile on social media sites, where they have spawned several new hash tags on Twitter and where a web site called "Roma Fa Schifo" (Rome is Gross) reports an uptick in traffic after nearly a decade of existence.

Raggi's office said it is looking for solutions to the problem, but for the cash-strapped city government that will represent a major challenge. One option, Gallo said, could be to seek private benefactors to help fund some reforms.

It's a strategy that worked to help clean up the Coliseum and other tourist sites. But there could be some predictable problems with that strategy as well, he said.

"It's a lot less compelling for a company or a wealthy individual to boast 'I helped reform Rome's waste disposal problems' than it is to say they cleaned up the Coliseum," Gallo said. Endit