NAPLES, Italy, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Italian authorities are trying to keep traditional New Year's Eve fireworks from igniting the garbage-clogged streets of Naples.
Some 1,400 tons of refuse are still uncollected in a breakdown of the disposal system that has dragged on for months, the Italian news agency ANSA reports. New Year's pyrotechnics injure hundreds of Italians every year.
Cabinet Undersecretary Gianni Letta held an emergency meeting with local officials in Rome Tuesday, and it was reported that firefighters may spray water on the trash Friday to keep it from catching fire.
The army was called in to help clean up Naples over the Christmas weekend.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has blamed local authorities for failing to open new landfills and build new incinerators. Plans to open some dumps were canceled in the face of violent resistance from residents.
European media reports have traced part of the problem to importation of toxic waste by the Camorra, the region's organized crime syndicate.
