Italy faces huge fines over illegal landfills

BRUSSELS Oct 24 (Reuters) - The European Commission asked the EU courts on Wednesday to impose huge fines on Italy over its failure to clean up hundreds of illegal waste landfill sites.

The EU's executive asked the European Court of Justice to impose a lump-sum fine of 56 million euros ($73 million), plus a daily fine of 256,819 euros until Italy complies with a 2007 ruling ordering it to resolve the problem.

"While some significant progress has been made, it is clear that problems persist in almost all Italian regions. The court ruling of 2007 has not been complied with, and the Commission has therefore decided to take Italy back to the court and ask for fines," the Commission said in a statement.

Under the 2007 decision, Italy was ordered to clean up 255 landfill sites, 16 of which contained hazardous waste, but has only put in place plans to clean up 132 of the sites, the Commission said.

The ECJ will have to take the final decision on fines in the matter. ($1 = 0.7714 euros) (Reporting by Charlie Dunmore; editing by Rex Merrifield)