Italy: Venice Promotes Refilling Water Bottles at Fountains

No Comments | June 11th, 2008 | Trackback

With some 19 million visitors a year and the majority of them wandering the city during the hot summer months, Venice is left with millions of plastic water bottles to dispose of when the tourists leave. Authorities are combating the scourge with a campaign to persuade visitors to refill their bottles at the city’s 122 water fountains, even providing a kit containing a map showing the fountains’ locations, a bottle with the slogan “Don’t throw me away; reuse me,” and a label showing the chemical composition of the “super-safe” water. The kits are being handed out at a square near Piazzale Roma, where most tourists arrive. The campaign was inspired by the Catholic church in February when it urged its Venice parishioners to give up mineral water for Lent to show respect for the environment.