Dubbed “the land of fires” because of the vast amounts of toxic waste dumped in the area, the illegal dumping has led to increased rates of cancer and pollution of groundwater, the court found.
Italy is being reprimanded for its inaction and a lack of due diligence “despite having known about the problem for many years” and the fact that “seven parliamentary commissions of inquiry have been set up into illegality in waste management,” the ruling states.
The government now has two years to “draw up a comprehensive strategy” to fix the illegal waste dumping problem in Campania, including by setting up an “independent monitoring mechanism.”
This is not the first time a European court has condemned Italy for failing to manage hazardous waste, particularly in the Campania region, where the Camorra mafia has played a significant role in illegal dumping.
In 2010, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Italy broke EU law by failing to ensure adequate waste disposal in the Campania region.
Following the judgment, in December 2014, the court fined Italy €40 million for not addressing the issue — its highest-ever fine against an EU member country at that time. In 2015, the court fined Italy an additional €20 million and imposed a daily fine of €120,000 until the problems were resolved.
