After years of emergencies, environmental scars, and broken promises, one of the darkest chapters in the Land of Fires has come to a close in Santa Maria la Fossa. The safety measures at the Parco Saurino 1 and 2 public landfills have been completed, representing one of the most significant environmental remediation projects ever undertaken in the Caserta area, in the heart of an area long plagued by lawlessness and institutional neglect.
The operation, entrusted by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security to Sogesid, the state environmental engineering firm, covered an area of approximately one hundred thousand square meters and allowed for the definitive management of over twenty million cubic meters of waste accumulated over the years of the emergency. This project, valued at just over six million euros, now returns the area to the community and radically changes its destiny.
The results were presented at the Pio La Torre Environmental Education Center, built on a property confiscated from Casalesi boss Francesco "Sandokan" Schiavone and managed by the Agrorinasce Consortium. It is a highly symbolic location, where environmental remediation is intertwined with the restoration of legality. Here, Sogesid President Roberto Mantovanelli emphasized how remediation represents a crucial tool for rebuilding trust between citizens and institutions, reaffirming the state's concrete presence even in the most affected areas.
Satisfaction was also expressed by the mayor of Santa Maria la Fossa, who recalled the burden borne by the local community in the 2000s, when other sites linked to the waste emergency were added to the Parco Saurino landfills, transforming a primarily agricultural area into a national symbol of environmental disaster. The completion of this safety project, the mayor explained, represents a turning point and rekindles hope for a return to the area's productive roots, characterized by farms and livestock.
From a technical standpoint, the project included advanced and sustainable solutions, including the construction of a multilayer roofing system, biogas capture and combustion, and renaturalization and landscape restoration. This work permanently closes a historic landfill and transforms a site once a symbol of illegality into an example of environmental and institutional regeneration, now managed by Gisec.
The political message was reiterated by Deputy Minister of the Environment Vannia Gava, who spoke of an investment in the future and quality of life of citizens, ensuring the Ministry's continued commitment to the remediation of the most fragile areas. Giuseppe Vadalà, the sole commissioner for remediation, echoed this sentiment, citing Parco Saurino as a virtuous model of collaboration between the state, technical bodies, and local authorities.
For Fratelli d'Italia MP Gimmi Cangiano, vice president of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on the Waste Cycle, experience shows that even in the most complex situations, it is possible to overcome emergencies when there are clear responsibilities and institutional coordination. This challenge now shifts to the realms of development, health protection, and legality. This was also reiterated by Sogesid CEO Errico Stravato, who emphasized the company's role as the technical arm of the State in the country's most difficult and strategic cleanups.
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Comments (1)
It's good news that the landfill in Santa Maria la Fossa has been made safe. We hope this will improve the environmental situation and allow us to return to a cleaner, healthier place. But we'll have to wait and see how it continues.