"We decided not to sign the (compromise) document without additional guarantees that a second dump at Terzigno will not be opened, as requested by our people," the mayor of nearby Boscoreale, Gennaro Langella, said.

Hundreds of people had joined more demonstrations late Saturday in Terzigno and overnight several dozen protestors hurled rocks at police who responded with tear gas, according to footage broadcast by Sky TG-24 television.

At least six officers have been injured in the clashes, officials said.

In a bid to calm tensions over the waste crisis, Italy's top security chief Guido Bertolaso late Saturday signed the plan to halt delivery of waste to the tip at Terzigno for three days to allow for an "analysis of health and environmental issues".

It also called for the decision on whether to open a second garbage tip to be postponed indefinitely provided the demonstrations stop.

Bertolaso's "indefinite freeze" is rejected by demonstrators who want the project to be scrapped altogether.

Langella spoke on Sunday after meeting with Bertolaso and leaders of the Campania region around Naples, Italy's third biggest city.

Langella said he continued to be open to talks, as Terzigno mayor Domenico Auricchio called for calm.

"I urge people to trust the state and put an end to the violence," said Auricchio. "Violence and vandalism do not serve anybody's interest."

Gutted refuse lorries and trash bags slit open littered streets in the area on Sunday.

A new meeting between Bertolaso and the mayors in Naples was scheduled for Tuesday.

Bertolaso said Sunday that the opening of a second tip was no longer on the agenda for the time being.

"We wanted to delay the opening till December 2011 but the mayors thought that this was not enough so we agreed on an indefinite freeze," he said.

The protestors' blockade of Terzigno's existing dump has caused 2,400 tonnes of rubbish to pile up in the streets of Naples.

The proposed new dump, the biggest in Europe, would be 800 metres (875 yards) from the edge of Terzigno in the Vesuvius National Park, some 135 square kilometres (52 square miles) of outstanding natural beauty in the Bay of Naples.

The protected area of rare wildlife and plants includes Mount Vesuvius, best known for its volcanic eruption in 79 AD that destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The long-running waste issue has been blamed on a lack of local incinerators, and landfill sites controlled by the local mafia, the Camorra, some of which were used for the illegal dumping of toxic waste.

European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said Saturday Italy faced legal action by the European Union and massive fines for failing to improve waste management around Naples.

earlier related report
Police hurt in clashes over Italy garbage dump
Terzigno, Italy (AFP) Oct 23, 2010 - Clashes between police and protestors against plans for a huge garbage tip near an Italian town left five officers hurt, police said Saturday, as the EU warned of legal action if Rome failed to resolve its waste problem.

Two policemen and three carabinieri suffered slight injuries in a face-off lasting several hours with residents of Terzigno near Naples hurling stones and fireworks at them, local authorities said.

The police responded with tear gas and baton charges in the latest incidents in a week of protests that have seen local people block all access to the town's existing waste dump.

The blockade has caused 2,400 tonnes of rubbish to pile up in the streets of Naples, the official responsible for the city's hygiene, Paolo Giacomelli, said.

He appealed to citizens not to burn the waste, after dozens of piles and containers of garbage were set ablaze on Friday night, saying it increased the environmental and health hazard.

The new dump, the biggest in Europe, would be 800 metres (875 yards) from the edge of Terzigno in the Vesuvius National Park, some 135 square kilometres (52 square miles) of outstanding natural beauty in the Bay of Naples.

The protected area of rare wildlife and plants includes Mount Vesuvius, best known for its volcanic eruption in 79 AD that destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The long-running waste issue has been blamed on a lack of local incinerators, and landfill sites controlled by the local mafia, the Camorra, some of which were used for the illegal dumping of toxic waste.

Meanwhile, a European commissioner said Italy faces legal action by the European Union and massive fines for failing to improve waste management around Naples.

"I am worried by what has been happening in Campania in recent days," said Janez Potocnik, the commissioner for the environment, referring to the region around Italy's third biggest city.

"Today's situation leads us to believe that measures taken by Italian authorities since 2007 are insufficient," he said in a statement.

He added that the European Commission, the EU's executive, was considering sending a team to the area to assess whether Italy remained in breach of European legislation requiring waste disposal installations that protect human health and the environment.

Europe's highest court in March found Italy had violated EU legislation for its failure to clean up the Naples region garbage crisis declared by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi 18 months earlier.

Should the European Commission decide to refer the matter back to the court -- the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice -- for a second time, and should it decide against Italy, the country would face a fine running into millions of euros.

Berlusconi had made finding a solution to the 2007 crisis a key plank of his winning election campaign.

On Friday he promised compensation for Terzigno, but local mayors rejected the offer, saying they will defend their territory at any cost.

"What has been happening in the last days shows that the Italian authorities have not yet done what is needed," the Brussels commissioner said.

The proof was that the Campania region still had no waste management and that the region's sole incinerator, in Acerra, "is not functioning properly and at full capacity," he added.

Italy was neither disposing of old waste nor able to manage new daily garbage production.

"The present situation has not changed compared to when the Commission decided to block EU funding," the statement said.

Pope Benedict XVI also weighed in with a Vatican message to local Bishop Beniamino Depalma saying that the pontiff was following closely "the alarming news from Terzigno" and hoping for "a fair and shared solution to the problem with the participation and goodwill of all."

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