When we’re off having travel adventures it can be easy to slip into bad habits and find ourselves creating all kinds of excess waste, which means we’re leaving the places we visit a little worse off than when we arrived. With these simple tips for reducing waste while travelling you can still have amazing adventures, just without the detrimental impact on the environment when you leave.
1. Pack a Reusable Water Bottle
No matter what kind of holiday you’re going on you’re likely to need to carry water around most of the time, so taking a reusable water bottle is an excellent way to cut down on the waste you create. I take mine on the plane with me so I can stay nice and hydrated, and then fill it up constantly while I’m out and about. Not only does it reduce waste but it will save you money too!
2. Take Your Own Bags
Reusable bags are useful not only for shopping while at home, but while travelling too! Popping a bag or two in your day pack will mean that you’ll have one on hand no matter what you stumble upon to purchase. In some parts of the world you now have to pay for plastic bags (or they are completely unavailable) so having your own is extra useful in those circumstances.
I love to visit local food markets when in a new place as well, so I tend to pack my little produce bags too, they are light and don’t take up much space but they are most definitely useful to have on hand.
3. Bring Cutlery & A Container
After visiting the aforementioned local food markets I often love to make my own meals to take to a park to enjoy, so having a container for carrying homemade salads or a sandwich, as well as set of cutlery is a great way to cut down on waste. The cutlery is also useful for when you’re buying takeaway food as you can then leave their single-use cutlery behind. They’re only small changes but they really do add up, particularly in countries where they don’t have adequate systems in place for properly recycling the waste that is created. The set I carry is the one below, it includes a fork, knife and spoon as well as some chopsticks that I shopped from shop-chopsticks.com, all in a hardy case meaning I don’t have to worry about cleaning them straight away. Perfect!
4. Learn About Local Recycling
Here in Melbourne we pop all our recycling in one bin that is then sorted at the recycling centre, but that’s not the case in most parts of the world. You’ll usually find that you need to at the very least separate the paper from the glass and plastic, and in some countries you even need to divide the glass by colour. In many European cities the recycling needs to be taken to a communal spot on the street to be disposed of, so there are definitely lots of differences to be aware of! Learning about how the waste disposal system works in the city you are visiting is a great way to ensure any waste you do create is dealt with correctly, and therefore stops you from being the culprit behind the recycling being sent to landfill instead. It’s usually pretty easy to figure out, but it’s an important thing to do!
5. Choose Solid Options
Taking solid versions of your skincare and haircare – like a solid shampoo bar and solid soap – is an easy win for reducing waste while travelling as it doesn’t create any excess packaging at all. They are usually much lighter than the bottled option too and take up less space in your suitcase so there are all kinds of wins for making that choice! I love my Lush shampoo and conditioner bars and always use solid soap, so it’s just a matter of popping them in a reusable container and away you go!
6. Take Only What You Need
When out and about on travel adventures there are a million opportunities to pick up things like maps, brochures, menus and the like, so an excellent way to reduce your personal waste is to try to only take what you need along the way. Instead of picking up a paper map of a city, download the offline version of the map through google maps so you can access it even without internet access, and if you just need a small piece of information from a brochure, take a photo of that part instead. Each item like this that you can leave behind the better!
I hope these tips for reducing waste while travelling have been helpful. I’d love to hear your suggestions too!
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!
Vanessa
June 27, 2016 at 10:09 am (8 years ago)Oh that cutlery set is a great tip. It looks like the same brand as I use for a lot of things anyway 🙂
Vanessa recently posted…How Do I Want To Travel?
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
July 19, 2016 at 5:54 pm (8 years ago)Yep, it’s the same brand as the containers you can find pretty much everywhere!
Karin @ Calm to Conniption
June 28, 2016 at 8:31 pm (8 years ago)Great tips. I always carry bags in my bags for all types of things. I love the cutlery set too. I saw one very similar in Daiso last time I was there.
Karin @ Calm to Conniption recently posted…4 Things I Do To Reboot Before He Flies Out
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
July 19, 2016 at 5:53 pm (8 years ago)Ooh yes, Daiso would most likely have excellent things like cutlery and small containers perfect for travelling!
Antoine Joseph
July 7, 2016 at 9:41 pm (8 years ago)Marvelous ideas! As a person in the waste business i have discussed the issue of plastic containers many times and how detrimental they are to the environment. The use of cloth bags and a tumbler will help to reduce plastic waste environment. Thank you for sharing !
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
July 19, 2016 at 5:49 pm (8 years ago)Thanks for your kind words!
Cristal Lawrence
May 14, 2019 at 6:07 pm (5 years ago)I could use these amazing tips! I am planning to travel outside the country…for the first time! I have never been more excited. Honestly, I thought the only things I have to pack are my clothes, phone, and charger…that’s it! I didn’t know how convenient it would be to carry my own cutlery!
Thank you so much for this!
Ella
August 18, 2019 at 11:06 am (5 years ago)I travel to Madagascar pretty frequently. One problem is that the recycling facilities are practically non-existent, so I try to take most of the plastic that the local people can’t reuse back to Europe (in my suitcase, I usually go to Madagascar with half a suitcase of clothing, etc to donate and leave with rubbish and local artisanal products. Water frim the tap isn’t safe to drink, so i have to buy plastic bottles, but people are often happy to have them as they can store milk, juice or petrol in them.
Ella
August 18, 2019 at 11:10 am (5 years ago)First of all excuse my English it is not my native languange and there mey be some Soanglish mixed in there somewhere. I travel to Madagascar pretty frequently. One problem is that the recycling facilities are practically non-existent, so I try to take most of the plastic that the local people can’t reuse back to Europe (in my suitcase, I usually go to Madagascar with half a suitcase of clothing, etc to donate and leave with rubbish and local artisanal products. Water from the tap isn’t safe to drink, so i have to buy plastic bottles, but people are often happy to have them as they can store milk, juice or petrol in them.