We often forget how much of an impact we can individually make by doing something good. Plastic is one of the biggest environmental debates. Did you know that an average of 500 million plastic straws are used daily in the US alone? You could start rethinking if you really need a straw when receiving one and start having a reusable straw. Just like that, you did one good step forward.
Here are more things you can introduce into your daily life:
– Avoid plastic bottles, carry a reusable bottle
– Take a reusable coffee cup/mug when you get your coffee
– Talk about it to your friends, family neighbours, raise awareness in your own circle
– Support companies that support these causes
In a nutshell, plastic is non biodegradable and has been killing animals, polluting oceans, water and more and more can be found also in the food we actually eat. There are many ways to address the problem.
Although it might be close to impossible to avoid plastic, we can make a positive change by reducing our plastic consumption. We understand sometimes it’s quite impossible. As we write this in the plane, Oman Air (and of course many other airlines) distributed us plastic container of waters, plastic apple juices and sandwiches wrapped in plastic. We technically can’t pledge to 100% consume plastic-free items, as they are simply EVERYWHERE!
This brings us to raise the subject of how to reduce our plastic consumption when we travel. What can you do to be able to make a positive change and inspire others to adopt the same initiatives while being on the road?
As responsible travellers, we do our best to be helpful to others and be mindful of the environment. This is why you should share these below tips on ways to reduce plastic when you travel the world.
1) Get a stainless steel bottle
Eliminating your “plastic footsteps” into a country by carrying a bottle. Avoid bottled water and juices. It sure can be difficult but do your best! Also, the reason why we recommend specifically to go for a stainless steel bottle is because other materials can still harm you by leaching some material in the liquids you pour in depending on the quality of what you choose. You will never know so better go for the safest product.
2) Bring your own snacks and food necessities
This might be in the extreme side, but if you are flying an airline that charges you food, pack your own things. Not only you will avoid few costs, you will avoid food full of chemicals and packaging waste. Pack these in an reusable container that can certainly be useful on your travels depending of the type of journey you are on.
3) Have your travel pillow
Did you know that using pillows on the plane isn’t very green? They are normally trashed at the end of each flight for sanitary reasons and of course are offered in many times in a plastic packaging. Airlines are usually the nightmare of travellers that want to avoid plastic!
4) Bring your own headset
Avoid using the ones given by the airlines as they obviously come wrapped in a plastic bag! You also don’t need to waste on another pair of headphones if you can have your own and have even better quality of sound to watch your movie. Can’t seem to get away from the plastic in planes! What hurts us the most is when we leave the plane and the amount of plastic waste you can find on the floor from people’s amazing unwrapping sessions!
5) Carry re-usable utensils
Many mindful travellers carry a little set of reusable utensils in their purse/backpacks to avoid any plastic ones offered when you are in the need. Count in this your reusable straw!
6) Roll up with you a tote bag
We have our cute Herschel customized tote bags. We carry them everywhere, even when we don’t travel. They can be useful at anytime, even when you need to run to the corner store to buy something, you will have your tote bag instead of taking plastic bags.
7) Raise awareness when you can
We might repeat ourselves, but when you can decline a straw or any type of plastic, do it, but say why. No need to rant, but maybe 1 or 2 sentences that would raise awareness. Support companies that encourages these initiatives and themselves creating products that are either raising awareness or helping to recycle. You can check out for example these Adidas x Parley shoes that are all about this.
8) Always recycle
When you are visiting a city and have rubbish make sure to recycle and throw it away in the right bins. Unfortunately not all cities are green friendly and might not have a recycling bin, but if you know they exist, make an effort to keep your recycling items in your bag until you find the right bin to dispose it in.
Imagine a world where we all made these efforts. Companies would start changing their ways of offering their products and evolve with this consciousness. As long as we are more that don’t care, unfortunately progress will be slow.
Make efforts to your best to contribute to the movement and share some awareness. If you know other ways to be able to be green and avoid plastic when you travel, please do let us know!
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