Help - Rome Trash Problem- Traveling with Kids

I just left Roma on Sunday, things seem fairly normal, frequent cleanup by the small trash trucks. I was in Roma in May, July, and August, and did not see crisis-level trash.

By the way, I was in Napoli at the worst of the trash crisis a few years ago, nothing like that in Roma's centro Storico. Even in Napoli, though, the streets were not "covered" with trash, more like the streets were lined with it.

There is no particular trash problem in Roma. There were a couple of small (one-day) strikes a few weeks ago, and sometimes AMA misses a street here-and-there in their pick-up routes, but in the tourist areas, it's pretty darn good. FYI, August is particularly good because so many residents are gone!

I was just in Rome yesterday and there was no trash outside of a bin in any of the neighborhoods you describe plus others I was in.

Thanks for these replies, they are very helpful and thoughtful!

Does anyone else have recent experiences in Rome you could share with me about this?

Does anyone else have recent experiences in Rome you could share with me about this?

Zoe's, Mona's and Laurel's replies are all about immediately current knowledge, on the street.

What more do you need?

By the way, David, the term for the old central area is Centro Storico, not centeo which is the name of a company or a grain.

Rome has big problems in garbage collection at the administrative level, as it is very expensive, quite inefficient, and a pocket of corruption. In May a new mayor - a gentle lady from the opposition party - was elected, and the government parties are now campaigning to show that the new opposition mayor is inefficient as she cannot solve in four weeks the problems that those very parties caused in ten years. The actual situation is exactly the same as three months ago but there is a lot of added political spin.

There are some very scary stories being reported in America about trash in Rome now, from well regarded news organizations. Here's one from NPR:

http://www.npr.org/2016/08/08/489138637/down-in-the-dumps-rome-deals-with-a-garbage-crisis?sc=tw

these stories make Rome sound very different form what you all are saying. I am very grateful for these kind travelers reassuring words. But the Centro is a large place so anyone else's experience or validation would still be helpful to me.

By the way, m sorry about my poor cell phone typing. I thought I typed Centro.

I understand your concern, and I was visiting the area around Naples when they had a bad problem a few years ago.

Yes, the NPR story sounds bad, but to some degree it sounds even more like a pro Mafia and anti the new Mayor story.

Just to put it in perspective, as it looks like you are new around here, Zoe goes to Rome every year and has been there on and off all summer, and Laurel lives there, and Mona's report is from what a tourist saw yesterday, so that may help with the credibility.

On all my trips to Roma I have always seen the trash removed properly, although when the trucks can't get to the bins because of parked, double parked and sometimes triple parked cars they do and always have left it.

Thank you for this post Nigel. This is actually the first time I've posted to anything to a Web forum, so I am definitely new here.

I appreciate you giving me the background for the other people who responded to me. It helps me understand their perspective is one with strong roots and a good understanding of the area.

Thank you, and also thanks to the others for taking their time to respond to me, too.

We were in Rome last week. A friend had been there a month before and she told me Rome was filthy. I didn't see that at all. She stayed outside the core. We stayed in the core and saw no issues and I was looking for it based on my friends review. Didn't smell anything more than cigarette smoke and I am very sensitive to smells. Minus inside the Largo argentina cat sanctuary. Only place I saw paper on the ground was as we were leaving the trevi fountain at night. We actually walked by the next day, paper wasn't there. Go to Rome, it was incredible. My friend stayed outside of the historic center and she said that is probably what was bad.

Thanks for that reply, Northwestern. what you've said makes a lot of sense, and is very helpful for me to understand the situation clearly!

David, I've seen more trash (and rats) in San Francisco, New York City and some other American cities than I've seen in Rome.

I was there three days in mid July. Stayed in the Campo de Fiori area. Didn't notice a smell anywhere. The only trash I saw was in one of the nearby squares. There was quite a bit of trash piled in the middle of the square, but I think it was left after a market and it wasn't there the next day.

David that NPR story (I agree, a credible source I turn to often) made me think they were reporting on a different Rome! While Rome is not as clean as many other cities (Milano, Venezia, Firenze) it surely does not stink! In fact, this month the street sweepers are out in force while traffic and parking are light. They are getting to clean streets more thoroughly.

Yes, I read about the trash crisis and it was worse some months ago, God help the new mayor in this political cesspool, but that story read like a myth to me with respect to the parts of the city I go to.

I'm so glad to hear that, Laurel. I'm so gratefull for your input, and that of the others here, too. Without it i wold be worried, and was considering altering my plans. I can't tell you how appreciative I am!

That npr story sounded nothing like the Rome I've known in the past, and it's great to hear it is not like the rome you know now. thank you so much!

Was there two weeks ago and didn't have any issues. Only saw two over-flowing bins in the morning and by later that afternoon they were empty. Certainly nothing to get upset about.

Donna