Traveling – We all seem to have a love or hate relationship with it. We love catching a flight or hoping into a car to explore a new place, but we hate having to figure out how to bring all of our essential belongings. For most of us, we tend to succumb to convenience when packing our belongings, however we often lose sight of the impact our travel choices have on the planet. Unfortunately, wastefulness often accompanies convenience, which is taxing on our environment. Of course it’s easier to take a stroll through Target and collect a bunch of travel sized toiletry products, however these travel sized products are often made out of plastic. When traveling last month, a few of our staff members took notice of how much plastic a typical traveler may use during a week long break. In an effort to reduce waste created when traveling and help fellow travelers out, our staff members compiled a list of ways to make your travel experience more sustainable.
- Spooner or later you’ll have to eat and when you do make sure to use bamboo or metal silverware. It is estimated that 40 billion individual plastic utensils are produced each year, and traveling with your own silverware will reduce the amount of plastic utensils you may use when traveling. Take your sustainable travel one step further by packing a set of bento boxes. You can pack travel snacks in your bento box, as well as store leftovers from the meals you may eat when traveling.
2. Water you supposed to do when you want something to drink? Well, pack a reusable water bottle in your suitcase and fill it up at water-refill stations. And when you inevitably need coffee to get you through your long travel days, use a reusable coffee mug. Restaurants, like Starbucks and Brooklyn Water Bagel will offer a discount for customers who use a reusable cup when purchasing a drink from their store.
3. Grab it and reusable bag it. We understand that it’s hard to avoid purchasing additional items when traveling, however it’s easy to plan ahead and pack a few reusable bags. Bigger reusable bags are great for exotic shopping while abroad, while smaller bags work well for housing snacks or loose items. It is estimated world wide that 1 trillion bags are used and discarded every year. Take a stand against plastic bags even when you travel.
4. Suck it up and lose the plastic straw. Remember to pack a handful of bamboo or stainless steel straws for when you travel. It’s estimated that Americans use 500 million drinking straws every day. Help eliminate plastic straws in our landfill by utilizing a more sustainable option.
5. Don’t get bamboozled by all of the options for travel gear. Instead, select products made out of bamboo or other sustainable materials. Bamboo grows in abundance and is biodegradable, making it a great option for any product. Take it to the next level by packing bamboo dinnerware for on the go travel. If you don’t want to worry about washing your travel items, remember that bamboo products can be composted.
6. Now walk it out. To reduce your carbon footprint when traveling, opt to walk, bike, or carpool. Before you take your trip, find walkable routes to your destination. When guests visit Loggerhead Marinelife Center, we always encourage them to park at the Center and walk down the coast to the pier. During popular events, we even offer a discount in our gift store for guests who ride their bikes.
7. You better can it. Avoid contributing to the amount of plastic waste created by ditching your plastic travel sized items for products packaged in tins cans. Lush offers shampoo, conditioner, lotion and bath soap in tin can containers. And the best part is – Lush’s bar products aren’t liquids so you can bring as much as you want in your carry on bags.
*Pro Tip: Check out our sustainable products page on our Estore. We add five new items to the Estore each week and regularly feature sustainable items.
