Caserta – It's no longer just neglect or sporadic incivility, but the work of a "hidden mastermind" that is targeting a valuable area on the outskirts of the city.
This is the alarm raised by WWF Caserta, which reports a worrying concentration of illegal waste dumping on the Tifatini Hills. A phenomenon that the association's president, Dr. Renato Perillo, bluntly calls "a real attack on the environment and therefore on public health."
According to the environmental association, diligent citizens have long been sending photographs and reports depicting illegal dumping of tires, asbestos, textiles, and construction waste. Hazardous and hazardous materials are systematically dumped. The WWF forwards all reports to the relevant authorities, and the Municipality of Caserta, the association notes, has repeatedly intervened quickly to clean up the area. But that's not enough.
"The question we are asking ourselves," WWF writes in the statement, "is whether the intense media attention and increased police presence in the historic sites of the Land of Fires is pushing criminals to seek out new, less controlled areas."
The fear is that criminals profiting from the illegal waste cycle and undeclared labor have already identified their new targets: "Perhaps they've designated Caserta Vecchia and Castel Morrone as the 'new Land of Fires'? We can't allow this!"
To address the emergency, WWF is calling for "targeted and sustained intervention by law enforcement and local institutions," both preventative—with patrols and video surveillance—and repressive measures. Meanwhile, the association has already activated its Volunteer Security Guards, who have been successfully operating for over twenty years along the Domitian coast, in the Aversa countryside, and north of Naples, to extend additional surveillance services to the Tifatini area. In 2025 alone, WWF Guards reported 164 illegal landfills in the province.
The cry of alarm also stems from an awareness of the value of the land under attack. The hills, explains the WWF, are a "precious treasure trove of plant biodiversity," documented in the Tifatino Herbarium (a digital archive with over 380 species), and are home to rarities such as the salamander in the Bosco di San Vito. An area already ravaged by quarries, unauthorized construction, fires, and neglect, and which perhaps, after 20 years, glimpses the creation of the Colli Tifatini Urban Park. This fragile resurgence of hope makes the onslaught of landfills even more intolerable.
The final appeal is twofold: to citizens, to continue reporting incidents of degradation, and to authorities, to coordinate their efforts and raise public awareness of the real health risks. "Let's ensure," the statement concludes, "that the tragic experience of the Land of Fires is not repeated on the outskirts of Caserta." What's at stake is the protection of a green lung and the health of an entire community.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
Reading the WWF alert, I realized that the waste issue is increasingly worrying. The municipal interventions seem insufficient, and I wonder if there's a more effective way to address the situation. It's important to protect our environment.