The culture of the environment? It seems light years away.
What the eyes see, for the moment, are only picturesque glimpses of the Apulian territory transformed into open-air landfills. Most of the time these are rural areas located near Bari where citizens who are not very sensitive to environmental protection issues deposit everything and more. Thus it happens that countryside on the outskirts of the capital, of the municipalities of the metropolitan area of Bari and on the edges of some rural roads continue to be transformed into landfills for “special” waste: household appliances, waste material from construction sites, tyres, metal drums, old furniture and anything else bulky that is no longer needed in homes is uncivilized abandoned, making so many places ugly that instead should be the undisputed kingdom of nature and the triumph of the beauty of our landscapes.
The discovery of these “rubbish dumps” was carried out by the volunteers of the “Gens Nova” working group for the prevention of phenomena damaging the environment in collaboration with those of the Bari nucleus of the “Anuu” (Italian Migratorists OdV) who , during the normal surveillance services of the area of competence, they found themselves faced with several illegal landfills (for example in the «Marina Vecchia», «S.Giorgio Martire» street, on the eastern coplanar of via Gentile, on the outskirts of Noicattaro, near on via Fanelli, in the Parco Lama Balice area, along the Sp 54, along the local road Dei contrabbandieri in Triggiano or on the Rafaschieri road in Bari, on the Pantaleo road or on the outskirts of Casamassima, on the Reni road in Capurso or Sp. 84 near Adelfia, along the Santa Maria a Bari road on the Santo Stefano a Triggiano road, just to give a few examples) in some of which there was no shortage of so-called dangerous waste (asbestos roofing, oil tanks, tyres, paint waste, etc.) , to be disposed of in appropriate landfills instead. Following their reports to the competent authorities, it is true that in many cases the waste was removed and the soil reclaimed but, over time, the same areas once again became covered with piles of other waste.
The question arises spontaneously: why all this? Incivility, rudeness, ignorance? A bit of all this, definitely. Misinformation, for example: few people know, in fact, that to get rid of bulky waste you just need to go to the nearest recycling center where you can deposit the “bulky items” you want to get rid of. All for free. Simpler than that.
«Gens Nova» and «Anuu», based on the reports made, has drawn up the third mapping of the sites presenting situations of pollution and waste burning in the metropolitan area of Bari, an activity begun in July 2020 and, which today already includes 188 monitored and registered areas.
«In the latest mapping sent to the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security through the Prefecture of Bari – commented the lawyer. Antonio La Scala, national president of “Gens Nova” – we found that in the last 66 sites surveyed, a cleaning activity had been carried out in 14, while in 5 cases there was a recurrence of waste dumping, the rest of the sites were recently discovered”.
«The bitter conclusion – adds La Scala – is that the game being played sees the environment succumbing towards the adversary, the latter made up of a plurality of subjects: criminals, uncivilized people, and crafty fire fighters. Despite, in fact. we have continued to report this degradation for years and although the competent Ministry has always taken action, nothing or almost nothing happens at a local level”.
Strengthening controls, for example, by installing camera traps in the areas of the territory most sensitive to the phenomenon of waste abandonment, could be a solution to stem the phenomenon of “wild landfill”.
«The hope is a serious strengthening of resources to protect the environment and, considering the vastness of the territory of the Metropolitan City of Bari – concludes the lawyer. La Scala – we believe it is useful to reconstitute surveillance facilities, such as Volunteer Hunting and Ecological Guards, who could in fact be a watchful eye on the territory in favor of the relevant authorities, and certainly a valid deterrent for those who commit crimes to the detriment of the environmental heritage. Otherwise the slaughter will continue inexorably, pre-establishing in the minds of certain subjects that the territory is for their use and consumption.”
Tags: Landfills map illegality province Bari
