伊ベネチア、観光客に水くみ場の利用呼び掛け　プラ削減の取り組み

【ベネチアＡＦＰ＝時事】「ペットボトルは超迷惑」──イタリア・ベネチアのサンマルコ広場に近い静かな中庭の水くみ場で、ボトルに水を満たしていた少女が言う。（写真は水くみ場で水筒に水を入れる観光客。イタリア・ベネチアで）
　米アリゾナ州から家族で旅行に来たというキーラさん（１１）は「海もどこもかしこもプラスチックだらけ」と話す。横にいた父親も「長期の旅行だと特にたくさん使ってしまう」と付け加えた。２人とも再利用可能なウオーターボトルを使うべきとの意見だ。
　地元当局によると、毎年数百万人が訪れるベネチアでは、観光客が出すごみが全体の２８～４０％を占めるという。これには大量のペットボトルが含まれている。
　こうしたごみ問題への対策として、当局は観光客に対し、市内の広場や路地に点在する水くみ場で水をボトルに詰め、飲用するよう呼び掛けている。

■水くみ場マップ
　ベネチアの都市計画に携わる建築家のアルベルト・キネッラート氏は「この歴史的都市には全部で１２６か所の水くみ場があります。見つけるのは簡単です。ほぼ１００メートルごとにありますから」と説明する。
　水道事業者ベリタスが、最寄りの水くみ場を示す地図アプリを提供しているので、探すのはさらに容易だ。
　キネッラート氏は「無料の水くみ場の利用を促進することで、ごみは確実に減ります。（中略）この歴史的都市に持ち込まれるプラスチック製ボトルの数も減り、汚染や輸送も削減されます」と述べた。
　市の中心部にあるホテルフローラでは、経営者のジョエーレ・ロマネッリ氏がプラスチックの削減運動に一役買っている。宿泊客に水くみ場の利用を促しているのだ。「ベネチアの泉を青い小さな水滴マークで表した地図を作りました」
　チェックインの際、宿泊客はベネチアの「おいしい水」について説明を受ける。「『ベネチアの水は飲めるんだ』と驚かれる方もいます」
　「宿泊するお客さまも、ほんの小さな行いでプラスチック削減運動に参加できます」とロマネッリ氏。ベネチアを訪れる「途方もない数の観光客」にいくらかの責任感を持ってもらうことができると語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/08/01-13:48）

A few steps from Venice's St. Mark's Square, a little girl fills her water bottle at a courtyard fountain, a haven of peace far from the hordes of tourists.
Plastic bottles are super annoying to me, said 11-year-old Keira from Tucson, Arizona. There is so much plastic in the ocean and everywhere.
Her father, Charlie Michieli, also believes in swapping plastic for refillable bottles: You can go through quite a lot, especially on a long trip... litres and litres and litres of plastic bottles.
In Venice, which welcomes millions of visitors each year, tourism contributes to between 28 and 40 percent of garbage production depending on the season, according to local government data -- including piles and piles of plastic water bottles.
To combat the waste, local authorities now promote the use of refillable water bottles by calling tourists' attention to the vast network of drinking water fountains dotting the squares and alleys of the watery city.
In the historic centre, there are 126 fountains spread over the area, they're easy to find, there's one nearly every 100 metres (330 feet), said architect Alberto Chinellato in his city hall office overlooking the Rialto Bridge.
To make things even easier, water distribution company Veritas has launched an app showing a map with all the nearest fountains.
Encouraging the use of free drinking water certainly produces less waste... but also brings fewer bottles in the historic centre, which means less pollution and less transport, said Chinellato.
Leaving Chinellato's office, AFP observed an empty plastic water bottle bobbing between two gondolas on the Grand Canal -- underscoring that the battle against plastic is far from being won.
- Little blue drop -
At the centrally located Hotel Flora, owner Gioele Romanelli has also decided to contribute to the crusade against plastic by educating his guests.
We simply had a card printed on which we pointed out the fountains of Venice with a little blue drop, said Romanelli, proudly displaying a copy on a small bistro table.
Not only with a refillable bottle, but also by recycling a small (plastic) water bottle you can keep all day, said the 49-year-old hotelier.
At check-in, guests are briefed about Venice's good water.
They are sometimes surprised to learn that the water in Venice is drinkable, he said.
With this small gesture, our customers can actively participate in the battle against plastic, he said, seeing it as a way, in a city with an insane number of tourists, to give them a certain sense of responsibility.
In addition to the card marking the city's fountains, the hotel has done away with single-dose shampoo and shower gel bottles in the rooms in favour of refillable dispensers.
At breakfast, plastic is something of the past, with the hotel now using small glass containers for muesli, dried fruit and yogurt, Romanelli said.
Venice is quickly recovering its tourist traffic following the coronavirus pandemic that robbed it of its economic lifeline.
But after reaching a total of 5.5 million visitors in 2019 -- eclipsing the city centre's 50,000 inhabitants -- officials are trying to limit arrivals.
From January, day visitors will pay a tax they've been able to avoid until now by not staying overnight.
The tax, priced between 3-10 euros (around $3-$10) depending on the number of crowds, will be payable online on a dedicated website.
It will provide visitors with a QR code needed for entry at the various entry points to the historic centre.