How to be plastic free on holiday Posted on 7 March 2019 Tags:Eco-tourism, plastic ban, single use plastic, sustainable travel More than 65% of countries in the world have some sort of plan to regulate how they make, use and dispose of single-use plastic. Some have put an extra tax on making them or buying these plastics. Others, like Kenya, Morocco and Rwanda, have upped the recycling of single-use plastics or have banned them altogether. According to Global Citizen and the UN, Africa is leading on this issue. If entire countries can go without plastic, what’s to say you can’t, too? https://www.instagram.com/p/Ble833Jhx1t/ Take your own It doesn’t take much space, time or effort to throw in reusable versions of what you normally pack. Take shampoo and soap for example; instead of buying plastic bottles, buy a bar of soap and shampoo. If you think it will be messy, wrap it in some waxed cloth. Keep a food container, bamboo cutlery, (it biodegrades after six months), a glass/metal straw, and a reusable water bottle in a reusable grocery bag. National Geographic traveller Marie McGrory recommends a foldable food container for easy storage. She urges you to remember to tell people that you have your own straw, bowl or bag. https://www.instagram.com/p/BjCihXXFtIy/ Take a mobile water purification device It is tempting to buy bottled water as you reckon it should be filtered, but why do that when you can purify water yourself? You can of course boil water, but if you’re on the move you can use a filtration bottle or the SteriPEN which uses ultraviolet light to destroy whatever is in there. You can also use water purification tablets and, as LonelyPlanet suggests, you can hide the taste of the water using rehydrate or vitamin C dissolvable tablets. https://www.instagram.com/p/BqIPbCOHAIP/ Invest in sustainable clothing – yours might be shedding plastic Yes, it’s true. When you wash your clothes, some of the plastic microfibres enter the waterways and end up in the ocean. Make sure your travel clothing is made from sustainable, eco-friendly textiles like bamboo. View this post on Instagram Keep it cool and classic with our Men’s Crew Neck T-Shirt. The shirt’s unique bamboo fibres pull moisture away from the body, ensuring that the only thing that clings to you is your confidence! #SweatFree #Breathable #Tshirt #MensClothing #beattheheat A post shared by Boody South Africa (@boodywearsa) on Oct 10, 2016 at 1:48am PDT Keep doing what you’re doing at home Don’t stop using biodegradable cotton buds, buying refills or using a biodegradable toothbrush. Keep reusing and recycling and rethinking how to manage your waste. There are even some apps to help you out, like this one which shows you were to find free drinking water in Paris so that you can fill up your water bottle, among other useful things. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bojh0GEh4Xi/ Support those who are doing things differently Eco-tourism is not just an abstract buzz word – it’s a real thing you can be part of. Try to support those who are looking after the environment everyday. They can keep doing what they’re doing, and they can help you to do the same. https://www.instagram.com/p/BjwoU_ihi-9/ Read Getaway’s article on cities and towns that have banned plastic Read Getaway’s article on how far South Africa still has to go until it bans single-use plastic Read Getaway’s article about the first airline to ban single-use plastics on its flights Read Getaway’s 10 tips for living with less plastic Feature image: Life is not a beach if it’s made of plastic (Dustan Woodhouse) Related Posts The Lady in the Landy: Carla Geyser 7 February 2023 "We cannot sit back and wait for a miracle to happen; every one of us... read more 88 countries agree on shark fin regulation in historic vote 22 November 2022 Panama was host to CITES in November 2022. For the first time in history, 88... read more The big question after Plett’s fatal shark attack: Why? 27 September 2022 By now, we know that sharks are not the mindless killing machines that horror movies... read more PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE
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