BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
Environmental protection specialists performed pier-side hazardous waste disposal for the U.S. Navy in Venice, Italy, for the first time in January.
The removal of items like empty containers, used rags and spent oil was part of some 18,000 pounds of material offloaded at Italian piers in Venice and Trieste since November as part of a new Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services hazardous waste sales contract.
“We provide warfighter support where it is required,” said Environmental Protection Specialist Davide Facchinetti, a DLA Disposition Services Aviano team member who supports servicemembers operating across the Mediterranean.
Facchinetti said the biggest DOD hazardous waste removal customers in the region remain the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army at bases in Aviano and Vicenza. But DLA also provides important pier-side service for U.S. Navy vessels at commercial and NATO piers across Italy, including at Augusta Bay on the island of Sicily, at Gaeta on the country’s west site, at Trieste and Venice in the northeast, and in Rota, Spain.
Demand for pier-side service is highest at Augusta Bay and Gaeta, according to Facchinetti. Removals from the two ports have added up to nearly 600,000 pounds since 2021. The newly adopted Trieste and Venice pickup locations have, so far, produced a fraction of that.
Facchinetti handles pier-side removals at Gaeta, Venice and Trieste with fellow Environmental Protection Specialist Gerald Zich. Dino Garofolo handles Augusta Bay removals on the island of Sicily, and Gareth Buckland covers the Navy’s needs in Rota, Spain.
“Our environmentalists at each of our sites have proven to be top notch,” said Aviano Area Manager David Stickney, who oversees the agency’s property disposal efforts across the Med. “When one of them may be out [on temporary duty], on leave, or any other assignment, the others rally around to assist in completing required duties. They maintain all documentation and records to remain in compliance to regulatory laws. They are top tier in their field!”
On providing local support in Venice, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, Supervisory Property Disposal Specialist Angela Sakryd said the Aviano team is “fortunate enough to be about an hour away from this beautiful floating city.”
“There were some minor logistical hurdles for [DLA] to clear,” Sakryd said, brought on by pandemic-related requirement changes. “Since [re-establishing] procedures for clearance, types of waste, and approvals from the Port Authority, Aviano environmentalists have been able to routinely support naval offloads at both Trieste and Venice.”