Naples, Italy, January 8, 2008Police in riot gear stand behind a barricade of trash set ablaze by protesters.

Trash collection in Naples and surrounding towns stopped on December 21, when collection agencies reported that local dumps were all full.

Residents have since turned out in protest, not to pressure the government to haul off the waste but to block efforts to open new landfill sites in their neighborhoods.

The recent violence is the latest episode in a more than decade-long struggle to manage the city's waste collection, which some officials allege is controlled by organized crime.

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