Municipal Solid Waste Management Policies and Problems in Naples

Over the last decades, waste started to be associated with management because of the need for plans and methodologies for its disposal; a procedure which requires specific and well-tailored policies. In order to look into the whole process, one single case will be depicted: the case of Naples which, in 2008, became infamous for its patent poor waste management. This case study will highlight the different phases of waste cycle, the involvement of different stakeholders, whether from the governmental – central and local – or the private sector, as well as the citizens themselves, and, last but not least, an examination of the legal framework regulating waste management. Leading topics of this paper will be the underlying and specific causes of such ecological disruption; the extent to which these are due to political negligence; and the solutions suggested for repairing the damage.