Rome wants to solve the waste problem before Christmas, but will it succeed?

If you only visit the tourist highlights, you may not notice it much. But it has been a source of annoyance to residents of Rome for years: the streets are littered with garbage. In almost all neighborhoods, overflowing waste containers spread stench and attract vermin. Italian media are calling it “an emergency”.

Reason for Roberto Gualtieri, mayor of the Eternal City since last month, to make the problem his biggest priority. The left-wing politician has earmarked forty million for a one-off clean-up campaign, with which he wants to make Rome presentable again before Christmas. But many residents are skeptical.

Street by street, district by district

“We start at this roundabout, and then continue along Via Trionfale in the direction of the hospital,” the team leader instructs about twenty employees of the garbage service. With leaf blowers and brooms, they are ready to clean the sidewalks from 11 a.m. to 6 a.m.: street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood. And that almost every night until the end of December.

“Tonight we are removing small debris and leaves, which are clogging the sewers and flooding the streets,” explains the team leader. “During the day, other teams empty containers, removing the piles of garbage bags around them.”

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