Italian pasticci. The waste sent to Tunisia returns to Italy to be stored in a naturalistic and food oasis
A WWF naturalistic oasis, the food valley that offers salads and rocket ready in bags to all of Europe (they call it Bonduelle valley because 60% of the salads in bags are produced with bio and hitech crops) and a myriad of dairies Texan ranch style that perhaps produce the best buffalo mozzarella in the world, alongside the Campania Region of Vincenzo De Luca decides to stock 6,000 tons of non-recyclable and potentially dangerous waste that Italy repackaged itself for 2 years with Tunisia.
It is the story of 282 containers left from Campania in 2020 to Africa, and which after disputes and investigations are waiting in these hours in the port of Salerno to then be characterized and stored in the military base of Persano (Municipality of Serre), where from days the population and the mayors of the Piana del Sele are in permanent garrison.
The international intrigue and the protests of the Salerno mayors
“It’s all part of an international intrigue. We are talking about waste that after a year is modified and recharged and can become highly dangerous “, explains the mayor of Serre Franco Mennella,” the waste cataloged in 191212 after a year can be modified and become highly dangerous “.
In fact, what is striking is precisely the nonsense of the decision of the national institutions and of the Campania Region to place such a deposit inside of an area immune to the classic Campania cliquet equal waste. In fact we are not in the classic “don’t bring them to my house” situation. It is not credible that there were no sites already polluted and used in the Region for the purpose to the point of disturbing a naturalistic oasis.
69 of the containers have been set on fire in Tunisia in unclear circumstances, so 213 remain in the field. “Why bring them here? It is a story that shows all the institutional incorrectness towards this territory ”, said the mayor of Serre Franco Mennella.
“It was all done without our knowledge”, explained Mennella to Affaritaliani.it.
Are there therefore any agreements between the De Luca Region, the province of Salerno and the local authority? (let’s ask)
“There is an agreement made by the local authority, a resolution of the regional council in which the outline of the agreement was approved which is not yet signed, but should be signed today … it was published in the Burc (The Official Bulletin of the Campania Region, ed) yesterday “.
But what is the point of placing such waste alongside food and naturalistic excellence?
“We are so angry that we don’t know what to do but oppose this wicked choice.”
But where is the rationale for these decisions … in De Luca’s head? I ask to understand …
“I don’t know, I don’t know. What is certain is that this company that managed the waste had a regional authorization, it certainly did not have other types of authorization. The management is of this private company, SRA, which was authorized by the Region. This is a fact”.
The case of waste sent to Tunisia and returned to Italy, which ended up close to the naturalistic oasis
The refusals from Campania ended up at the center of a political scandal in Tunisia which also led to the arrest of former Environment Minister Mustapha Aroui and several state officials. The choice of Tunisia was adopted because it was believed that recycling procedures in Tunisia were cheaper and more convenient. Then the waste was never recycled, rather it stopped in the port of Sousse in Tunisia and finally returned to Campania.
In Italy there are two judicial inquiries open, by the Districts Anti-Mafia Directorates of Salerno and that of Potenza, competent for the Vallo Di Diano, where the Campania company SRA is based. The parliamentary commission of inquiry on the waste cycle, chaired by Stefano Vignaroli (M5S), has also started hearings on the incident.
But the reverse would be the result of institutional agreements between the Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio and the Tunisian president Kais Saied. And then at the beginning of the year between the governor of Campania Vincenzo De Luca and the Tunisian embassy in Rome. Ansa has recently relaunched the institutional cooperation agreement between Italy and Tunisia, signed on 11 February and which “represents the completion of the consultation process between Tunisia and Italy, which dates back to 2020”, reads a note from the Tunisian ministry which also defines “the commitments that each party has to deal with repatriation to Italy, in the first place, of 213 containers of waste, currently stored at the port of Sousse “. “The consultations will continue later, for the finalization of the return of the remaining Italian waste located in a warehouse in Mourredine (delegation of Msaken, Sousse) following a fire”.
When Tunisian customs discovered the waste, an administrative investigation and then a criminal investigation were opened in Tunisia. 26 people were investigated for corruption, including customs officials and the former Minister of the Environment, Mustapha Aroui, who was arrested. Six people are still in custody in prison, while the manager of the importing company is on the run. But the judicial process in both Tunisia and Italy is still on the high seas.
Mayor Mennella, also in the past, ecobales arrived temporarily at the Persano site which then were not disposed of … they remained there. Is it true? Mennella: “They are removing themselves”.
What will you do now to oppose the arrival of waste?
Mennella: “We will follow all legal ways and protest peacefully to stop this massacre, to prevent the arrival of containers, at this moment still in the port of Salerno, and of which we know nothing. We must preserve the excellence and quality that have been produced over the years in these beautiful areas of ours “.
Protests were raised among the municipalities of Serre, Altavilla Silentina, Eboli, Campagna, Buccino and neighboring countries against the incomprehensible choice of the Campania Region. People are taking to the streets in permanent garrison to make their dissent heard.
Meanwhile, these are the statements by Governor De Luca to local newspapers: “We have decided, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Defense, to use the Persano site for temporary storage. In Persano, within 6 months, we remove all the waste out of the way, even what is left of the old eco-bales … Of the 6000 tons of waste that come from Tunisia, 10% must be subjected to sample monitoring, a temporary plant will be needed to carry out this check, check that there is no toxic waste. There are none, but you have to do the checks anyway. Then we will do the tender, again on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment, to completely dispose of these 6 thousand tons too “.
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