How to minimize waste while traveling

Traveling lets us see how fragile our planet is and the duty we owe to the environment to make it a safe habitat for humans, animals, and plants. However, the majority of travel activities harm the environment; from transportation that pollutes the air to fine dining that leaves a horrible carbon footprint and deficit in sustainability. 

Another harmful activity is plastic use both at home and abroad. Every day around 8 million pieces of plastic make their way into our oceans and on average, there are 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile. Sadly, plastics can take hundreds of thousands of years to decompose wreaking havoc on aquatic lives and surrounding ecosystems and coastal regions. Therefore, as travelers, we have to make conscious efforts to reduce our plastic consumption, minimize our carbon footprint, and reduce waste whether in the most crowded location or remote destination.

Read on for other ways to enforce zero-waste travel.

Pack reusable items

Most of the waste generated during traveling is from product packaging and storage as such substituting these single-use materials with reusable options reduces waste discarding. Carry a reusable bottle you can fill with drinking water as you go and a container for leftover food and snacks. Take a tote bag for your groceries and kindly refuse plastic shopping bags. Use packing cubes and cotton bags for laundry instead of plastics.

Replace your toiletries with waste-free alternatives

For liquids in this category, simply fill them into travel-size reusable bottles before leaving home. Items like toothbrushes can be switched to bamboo and wooden varieties. And as a waste-free alternative to tampons, menstrual cups and underwear are getting more and more popular. Bring them along with you on your trip and you can clean them and reuse them again and again.

Avoid paper by going digital

To ease the stress of organizing documents in your luggage, scan them instead and save them in the cloud. Nowadays, a digital copy of a document is recognized just the same as a paper copy of it is. So, not only will keeping a digital copy of your itinerary, IDs, boarding pass and tickets help you reduce the waste you generate as a traveler, but doing so will help you save space in your luggage and reduce the risk of misplacing important documents. When you make purchases, you can also ask that the receipt be emailed to you rather than printed on paper if you need it. Rather than picking up a paper magazine or purchasing a book, simply read them digitally on a tablet or ebook reader. In this way, you can travel with a large number of books without carrying any extra weight.

Consider zero-waste dining

One way to reduce waste when eating on your travels is choosing to eat off reusable plates and silverware in restaurants over takeouts that come in disposable containers. Buy groceries at farmers’ markets, and shop for local delicacies from farm-to-table restaurants. If your accommodation permits, cook your own food and save on single-use packaging.

Shop ethically and locally

If you wish to take home souvenirs, support local and ethical stores. Look for retailers who support reusable bags, eco-friendly items, and a reduction in plastic usage. Your purchases will benefit both the environment and the community.

Choose environmentally conscious lodging

You can make a huge difference with the right choice of accommodation. Airbnbs are good in that you can cook your own food and do your laundry as well. But if you must stay at a hotel, one thing to avoid is letting room service change your bedding and towels every day. This will reduce wasting of water and laundry detergent. You can also explore the environment and support local market stalls and restaurants than eat all the time at the hotel. 

Even though you might not be able to use these suggestions on every trip, it is important to keep trying. As more and more travelers become aware of plastic effects on our planet and refuse to accept them, local vendors will also become aware and adjust accordingly.

Want to check out more tips on sustainable travel? Check out these travel practices to adopt.

Do you have other tips for waste-free travel or cutting back on waste when traveling? We'd like to know, so leave a comment below!