The Mayor's Water

In Italy, tap water is often called "the mayor’s water" (l'acqua del sindaco). That's the joke behind a new poster in Venice that features the mayor, Massimo Cacciari, promoting the city's tap water. "Anch'io bevo l'acqua del sindaco" (I too drink the mayor's water), proclaims Cacciari.

It's all part of a public education campaign to encourage the use of tap water (l'acqua di rubinetto) to reduce plastic waste. City officials invented a brand name for Venice's tap water—Acqua Veritas—and even gave away carafes free to households. In Venice especially, trash is a costly problem since it's collected by men with wheelbarrows along the canal. Collection costs over four times as much on the mainland.