Last night's fire that broke out in a company that handles hazardous waste "was the straw that broke the camel's back." This is what the mayor of Battipaglia, Cecilia Francese, explained as she reached the entrance gates of the stir, the shredding plant that receives waste from the entire province of Salerno, to "not allow trucks to enter". A protest picket preceded, this morning, by "blanket checks on the municipal territory by the local police on all trucks transporting waste and circulating in the Battipaglia area". Francese, stating that he is well aware of "the waste emergency and the importance of the Battipaglia stir at this time", observes that "for three years we have been asking for meetings and to address the problem of waste and the high concentration of waste industries in the area". Therefore, "the moment the 'governor' (the president of the Campania Region, Vincenzo De Luca, ed.) or his deputy (Fulvio Bonavitacola, who also has the delegation for the Environment, ed.) come here, we sit down and talk seriously about the actions and what is to be done and with certain timescales, then we leave. Now that’s enough.” According to the mayor, around “300 people” are taking part in the protest, but “it is a peaceful and reasonable protest”. In the meantime, "I won't move from here until someone comes to talk to me and the people of Battipaglia. The Civil Protection is coming to set up a tent and we are on guard,” he added. Trucks loaded with garbage that turn around because they cannot unload the bags inside the Battipaglia stir, the shredding plant that receives waste from the entire province of Salerno. The protest led by the mayor, Cecilia Francese, continues, having requested and obtained a meeting with the leaders of the Campania Region to address the waste problem. In the evening, the mayor met with the vice president of Campania and councilor for the environment, Fulvio Bonavitacola, in the offices of the Municipality. At first, it was not possible for the citizens of the committees to participate in the meeting, but then the green light was given to attend. The outcome of the meeting will also decide the fate of the protest which, as underlined by the mayor, will continue until the citizens are given answers. Meanwhile, the fire that broke out this morning in the company in the factory that disposes of special waste in the industrial area of the town at the gates of the Piana del Sele was put out thanks to the work of five teams of firefighters. However, gaseous emissions remain in the air. For this reason, the operations will continue tomorrow, in particular to cover the burned tires with soil. Arpac has activated a mobile laboratory for monitoring air quality 150 meters from the fire, but the results will be available in the next few days. Meanwhile, tomorrow all schools of all levels in the municipality will remain closed due to, as stated in the ordinance signed by the mayor, "the continued presence of residual gas emissions and uncertainty about the wind direction."
EDITORIAL TEAM
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to