There have been numerous reports reached the Carabinieri and local authorities, by private citizens who complained of nauseating smells that came to the plain of Gioia Tauro, associated with smoke and air reassembled especially in the presence of wind. In the bed of the search for a possible source of these fumes, the carabinieri of the Gioia Tauro station, with the technical-specific support of the Ecological Operational Unit of Reggio Calabria, identified a land in the municipality of Seminara where they were oversized about 70 tons of unmarried compost and denounced the two owners of a waste disposal company in a state of freedom, accused of uncontrolled deposit and illegal combustion of illegal. organic.
According to what emerged from the controls, the company would have managed the materials in a completely irregular way: the organic waste was piled up in large heaps without compliance with the treatment and transformation procedures provided for by the legislation, and then be resold to various farmers in the area as “compost”. In reality, the one marketed was not a natural fertilizer ready for use, but an incomplete product, still in the maturation phase, capable of release foul -smelling and potentially toxic fumes.
The military also ascertained episodes of illegal combustion of accumulated residues, a practice that contributes to release harmful substances and seriously polluting the air and soil. A conduct that, in addition to configuring hypotheses of environmental crime, represents a concrete threat to public health, the quality of crops and food safety.
The entire corporate area has been seized: inside it, cumulles of organic waste were found in various decomposition stages and evident traces of combustion. The area needed a reclamation operation conducted together with the firefighters and continued for more than 7 days, which has made it possible to contain the fumes. Technical investigations are currently underway to evaluate the impact on the environment and reconstruct the distribution supply chain of the irregular material.