Venice says the water's lovely
Source: Agencies |
November 12, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
VENICE wants people to drink its water. Really.
The city is on a campaign to wean its population off bottled mineral water by promoting tap water, "the mayor's water" as it's affectionately known.
Trash removal in a city of canals, bridges and stairs is a monumental task - and collecting mountains of plastic bottles is a big part of the burden. Officials say drinking tap is also a way to reduce the city's carbon footprint.
The notion of drinking water from Venice, whose canals are known for their filth almost as much for their beauty, might sound strange.
But Venice, like many Italian cities, gets its water from natural springs. In fact, the ones in Venice are located directly across from those used by a famous water company.
Collectors are deployed in 150 zones of Venice's center, sweeping from 6am to 8am, then piling carts with residential garbage - 2.4 kilograms a day per person, more than double the regional average due to the influx of tourists.
Twice a week, the collectors devote rounds exclusively to plastic, so great is the volume. There are signs the initiative is working. In the second half of 2008, as the city was rolling out the campaign, Venice collected 260 tons of plastic waste; that had dropped to 237 tons in the last half of 2009.
Meanwhile, the percentage of people who said they always drink tap water jumped 13 points from 2007 to 2009, while those who said they never did dropped 5 points, said Riccardo Seccarello, spokesman for Veritas, an agency that manages both the provincial water supply and trash removal system.
"We are trying to make people understand that our water is good, plus it is sustainable." Seccarello said.
Italians are among the greatest consumers of bottled water in the world, drinking 194 liters per capita a year, said Giorgio Temporelli, research director of the environmental foundation AGMA.
Temporelli said drinking more tap water will also reduce carbon emissions, as 2 kilograms of CO2 are produced making 25 of the PET bottles that have been used since the 1990s.
The city is on a campaign to wean its population off bottled mineral water by promoting tap water, "the mayor's water" as it's affectionately known.
Trash removal in a city of canals, bridges and stairs is a monumental task - and collecting mountains of plastic bottles is a big part of the burden. Officials say drinking tap is also a way to reduce the city's carbon footprint.
The notion of drinking water from Venice, whose canals are known for their filth almost as much for their beauty, might sound strange.
But Venice, like many Italian cities, gets its water from natural springs. In fact, the ones in Venice are located directly across from those used by a famous water company.
Collectors are deployed in 150 zones of Venice's center, sweeping from 6am to 8am, then piling carts with residential garbage - 2.4 kilograms a day per person, more than double the regional average due to the influx of tourists.
Twice a week, the collectors devote rounds exclusively to plastic, so great is the volume. There are signs the initiative is working. In the second half of 2008, as the city was rolling out the campaign, Venice collected 260 tons of plastic waste; that had dropped to 237 tons in the last half of 2009.
Meanwhile, the percentage of people who said they always drink tap water jumped 13 points from 2007 to 2009, while those who said they never did dropped 5 points, said Riccardo Seccarello, spokesman for Veritas, an agency that manages both the provincial water supply and trash removal system.
"We are trying to make people understand that our water is good, plus it is sustainable." Seccarello said.
Italians are among the greatest consumers of bottled water in the world, drinking 194 liters per capita a year, said Giorgio Temporelli, research director of the environmental foundation AGMA.
Temporelli said drinking more tap water will also reduce carbon emissions, as 2 kilograms of CO2 are produced making 25 of the PET bottles that have been used since the 1990s.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
