Ancona, Italy, announced yesterday that it will pay $70,000 for satellite photographs to help it pinpoint the exact location of illegal toxic waste dumps in the city. Italy’s Environment Ministry says at least 152,000 tons of illegal refuse, much of it toxic, are dumped in the nation each year, primarily by organized gangs dubbed the “ecomafia.” The company Telespazio, which will provide Ancona with images from French and U.S. satellites, hopes to market this service to other Italian municipalities, particularly those in the southern part of the country, homeland of the mafia and reportedly one of the most contaminated regions in the nation.
