There is a campaign in Italy to encourage people to stop buying bottled water and to drink from taps. I saw this sign on a bus recently.
I think it will take a while for this to take effect. There are whole areas in supermarkets devoted to bottled water and I see it in every shopping cart.
I don’t understand the fascination with bottled water. Of course it is convenient to buy it while you are out and about, but surely not necessary at home.
On top of that there are water fountains in most towns where you can fill up your bottles for free….why buy the stuff???
I think it is a waste of resources. What do you think?
I couldn’t agree more!
By: hitchedinitaly on October 17, 2015
at 11:37 am
It seems pointless to me to buy bottled water, when tap water is perfectly fine.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 11:46 am
I think so too. When I am in Italy I usually keep filling my bottled water from fountains ..its so convenient and cheap!
By: Ishita on October 17, 2015
at 11:39 am
It is a great idea to fill your bottle or flask from fountains.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 11:46 am
Longing to be in Italy
By: Ishita on October 17, 2015
at 11:47 am
Yes I agree with you. I cannot understand why anybody should buy water in a plastic bottle when the water is ok from the tap. Is your area ok. I read about the awful floods in northern Italy
By: janetknight57 on October 17, 2015
at 11:58 am
We have had lots of rain and it is cold and miserable today, but we have had no damage that I know of. We have been lucky.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 12:12 pm
Totally agree and argue about it with my children……
By: Anonymous on October 17, 2015
at 11:59 am
At one point people were walking around drinking from bottles all the time. That fad seems to have died down, but bottled water is still popular. I don’t get it.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 12:13 pm
I totally agree. Not to mention how much the back hurts after carrying those heavy water bottles….
By: Mulino Dominillo on October 17, 2015
at 12:17 pm
Yes, those water bottles are heavy.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 12:24 pm
I like to drink tap water but I put it through a Brita filter first. The attraction is that sometimes the tap water just doesn’t taste that good in some areas. One of my relatives had a country house where the water smelled like sulfur and didn’t taste that great, so they put in a water filtration system and that made the water much more palatable.
By: Eagle-Eyed Editor on October 17, 2015
at 12:18 pm
Our water in Brisbane doesn’t taste great, but a filter helps. At Casa Debbio we have our own spring, which is great.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 12:25 pm
Nice!
By: Eagle-Eyed Editor on October 17, 2015
at 2:11 pm
We also use the fountains for a refill, but some towns do have water problems, for instance, Montefiascone has arsenic in their water. It is near lake Bolsene. The locals don’t drink it!
By: Dave Lester on October 17, 2015
at 1:40 pm
whoops,, Bolsena.
By: Dave Lester on October 17, 2015
at 1:41 pm
Arsenic in the water would be a definite problem.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 1:48 pm
I agree. I never buy bottled water.
By: Mallee Stanley on October 17, 2015
at 2:05 pm
It has its place when you are out and about, but I don’t think it is necessary all the time.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 2:22 pm
Water bottles are a horror, the convenience aside – appealing to laziness it is TAP WATER IN THE PLASTIC BOTTLE! It is nothing special. I have never been in the habit of buying it – too lazy – and the worry of hot plastic leaching chemicals into my drink is terrifying. Of course I would much prefer to drink wine. But it has to stop – it is a real epidemic.. c
By: Cecilia Mary Gunther on October 17, 2015
at 2:14 pm
In some cases here in Italy bottled wine is cheaper than bottled water.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 2:23 pm
I knew there was another reason why I wanted to get back there soon!
By: Cecilia Mary Gunther on October 17, 2015
at 5:14 pm
It does have its place when you’re out and about, or if your water tastes terrible from the tap….
By: Sue on October 17, 2015
at 4:11 pm
Brisbane water doesn’t taste the best but if you put it in the fridge it is a bit better.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 8:20 pm
My thoughts entirely. I noticed that tap water is now served in French restaurants throughout the countryside and hope Italian restaurants begin to do so too.
By: Francesca on October 17, 2015
at 6:12 pm
It does happen quite a lot around this area as many of the restaurants use the spring water.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 8:20 pm
My favorite fountain in Lucca!
By: paninigirl on October 17, 2015
at 7:05 pm
It is wonderful. I often see people filling up their bottles there, but it was raining when I took the photo.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 8:19 pm
I started drinking bottled water when our water bill showed the % of carcinogens in the water. 🙂
By: kalgoorliegirl on October 17, 2015
at 8:03 pm
I would do that too.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 8:18 pm
Totally agree. When I am in Italy I buy the first bottle of water and then re fill it. Maybe next year I will take my special flask that I got in Hawaii this year. I refill here in Aus so why not everywhere.
By: Lyn on October 17, 2015
at 8:04 pm
I think it is a bit of a fad, which maybe is on the way out.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 8:18 pm
I agree 100%. Especially if the water is simply bottled tap water!
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By: mikeprosperi on October 17, 2015
at 8:10 pm
I do like sparkling water when I am at a restaurant, but apart from that tap water is just fine.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 8:17 pm
We have stainless steel water bottles; fill them at home. Before we used a Brita filter; but suspecting they too held bacteria as the filter aged; moved on to something else. It is a copper jug, with lid, that we bought in Indian Town (Toronto). It claims to be the safest (and most efficient) way to diminish anything ‘harmful’ in the water (hence food etc. stored in copper jugs, in practise for hundreds of years) when left for a period of 24 hours in the fridge (I guess outside too). We fill it at night with tap water, empty the previous days contents into a glass jug, kept on the counter, use it the following day and then, at night, repeat the performance. Have been doing so for a number of years; have gifted them to others who really liked the idea and they, in turn, have passed on the idea to others. Everyone who’s seen it, heard about it, wants a copper jug. To clean it you can use lemon juice. Nothing harsh or toxic going on with this one. Looks kinda pretty too!
By: Anonymous on October 17, 2015
at 9:27 pm
This sounds like a great idea.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 17, 2015
at 9:44 pm
Couldn’t agree more, I just hate it if I ever have to buy a bottle.
By: Kirsi Säde on October 17, 2015
at 11:18 pm
It seems a bit pointless.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 18, 2015
at 4:25 am
I agree! Even though we have a plastic recycling program, it’s better not to buy it at all. I carry a canteen bottle when I’m on the go, so I don’t have to buy the plastic bottles. I hope that ad campaign catches on.
By: Jackie Cangro on October 17, 2015
at 11:18 pm
I hate plastic bottles. They can’t be good for anything.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 18, 2015
at 4:25 am
I hate bottled water! I do whatever I can to avoid it. I think of all the waste of plastic and how many times I see plastic water bottles thrown out. It makes me sad. I always carry a reusable water bottle around and one for the kids. We are seeing more and more refilling stations for water bottles now in the US and it always gives you a number of what impact you make on the environment by refilling a bottle. Glad Italy is trying to change. We can too!
By: thirdeyemom on October 18, 2015
at 1:38 am
With a bit of luck the silly bottled water fad will go away.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 18, 2015
at 4:26 am
Plastic, plastic, plastic! We do not need more plastic. We are being conditioned by corporations to think that factory produced food and water is healthier.
By: Jan on October 18, 2015
at 10:11 am
We certainly do not need endless plastic bottles.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 18, 2015
at 8:04 pm
I think it is great that in Italy there are water fountains available in so many places. I have drunk water from them many times and the water was so good and I never got sick from it.
In Florence I was even able to test 2 kinds of water right in the center of town, all free. So indeed there is no point to buy bottled water there since the fresh water is much better for us and free.
I wish similar water fountains with water safe to drink would be available in all other countries as well. This would certainly help the environment and people would be also able to save a lot of money. Besides tap water quality should be improved, so people could drink it as well.
By: creativeartphoto on October 18, 2015
at 5:19 pm
Italy has lots of natural springs, we have one at our house. They don’t exist everywhere.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 18, 2015
at 8:05 pm
I so agree with you, Debra. It’s become a silly fashion.
By: anotherday2paradise on October 18, 2015
at 6:05 pm
With a bit of luck the fad is on the way out.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 18, 2015
at 8:06 pm
I have to admit being a bottle water fan in Italy – for the taste. Also I guess because it’s a treat to find all the water brands that cost a fortune in Australia costing relatively little in Italy. It sounds like a good idea though. All that plastic is a concern…
By: janinevasta on October 18, 2015
at 11:37 pm
I understand that. I admit to liking frizzante water, but I try to keep it to a minimum.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 19, 2015
at 6:00 am
When the first bottled water came out, it was called Evian. They made a killing touting how much cleaner their water was than tap water, and they charged a hefty price for getting their water in a bottle. However testing proved that it was no more “pure” or “clean” than the water anyone could get from the local taps. Someone finally figured out that it was all a con to get money for the two “entrepreneurs” who started the company. You see, “Evian” spelled backwards is “naïve.” 🙂
By: Rob Mc Artor on October 19, 2015
at 7:42 am
I think there is some need for bottled water, but not as an every day thing. It is waste of money and resources.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 19, 2015
at 8:01 am
Not every country/city has a good water from a tap. I know places where tap water is simply dangerous for health.
By: Victor Tribunsky on October 19, 2015
at 5:39 pm
Then they would need to drink bottled water, but where the tap water is good it seems pointless to buy water.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 19, 2015
at 8:01 pm
I am agree. For example, in Switzerland.
By: Victor Tribunsky on October 19, 2015
at 9:35 pm
Not only is it not necessary to drink only bottled water but the problem of the left over plastic bottles is also a huge problem world wide.
By: Kerry & Jim on October 20, 2015
at 10:29 am