No reason for end to 'fridge removals' (3)

(ANSA) - Rome, October 26 - Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi told parliament's anti-mafia commission on Wednesday that a service to collect large items of trash in the capital had been suspended before she took office in June. She was commenting after being ridiculed for suggesting the large number of fridges and items of furniture dumped in the Rome streets was suspicious. Critics accused her of conjuring up non-existent plots to discredit her and said it was no surprise the large items of trash were on the streets given the service to collect them is not operative. "The service to collect large rubbish was stopped on June 18, before the second round (of voting for the city elections).
    No one knows the reason," said the mayor, whose executive has been hit by some major teething troubles as it seeks to address major problems in trash management, public transport and several other areas. "We are working to reactivate it with a new tender competition.
    "You tell me if it's normal for a service to suddenly be stopped". Raggi, a member of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, told the commission that she wanted the private sector to be excluded from the management of the capital's trash. "We want to eliminate the private enterprises that make money from the refuse cycle," said Raggi.
    "We want (trash company) AMA to own the plants. This is discontinuity with the past".