How to use Less Plastic When You Travel?

The plastic problem has been a critical issue in the world and destroying the earth. Sitting at home, we have been watching all about the scary clips about the plastic garbage lumps collected in the oceans. Oceans are silently choking on our plastic waste, which is very horrifying for marine wildlife and the environment. We buy plastic ,use it for short time, and we throw it, which is non-degradable, ends up its journey to the oceans. It is likely to hang on the plastics treasures for decades or centuries, degrading the lives of many living things.

We have been using plastic as it is necessary to use and sometimes, even if it is not required. Every single piece of plastic we consume conduce the garbage in the ocean, which is not going to destroy for more than 1000 years.

Now the beautiful oceans have turned to be "Plastic Ocean" with plastic everywhere. The ingestion of plastic stuff thinking as food by the sea-life, wildlife has been killing millions of living beings.

Plastics are visible everywhere, from beaches,oceans  to the streets of the  night market on roadsides following to the the  top of the world.

We, as travelers, are making the plastic issue even worse. Plastic has been a smooth and comfortable necessity these days. It is quite challenging to avoid plastics in our travel, but it is not impossible. REDUCE THE USE OF PLASTIC WHILE TRAVELING. Simply, refusing the plastic stuff during our trip can contribute a lot to sustainable tourism.

Now, let's start  to bring the change.

Straightaway, let's have a glance at the best tips travelers can reduce the amount of plastic we consume during our travel.

1.Travel With a Reusable Water Bottle

Carrying your water bottle during the travel is the quite easy tips one can do. This simple thing helps to reduce the day-to-day purchase of plastic water bottles, which is also quite economical in a long-run adventure. According to various research, people purchase more than 20000 plastic bottles every second worldwide.  You just need to buy one and refill it time and again.

2.Pack a Water Filter

Travelers, especially the westerners, generally don't drink water from the taps. Many people may think the local water is not safe for drinking and buy plastic bottles. The best solution for this is to carry a water filter and drink the purified water rather than buying dozens of plastic bottles. It may take little effort, but you will soon be used to it.

3.Bring a Reusable Shopping Bag

Let's think about plastic bags during shopping in various places throughout the world, especially in South Asia. Every time you buy something in South Asia, you will get your stuff in a plastic bag. The more you do the shopping, you are going to have the collection of plastic bags. Avoiding and refusing plastic shopping bags is simple than ever.

Whenever you are going out shopping, pick-up your fabric, reusable and washable bags, and load your stuff together. Henceforth, say no to plastic shopping bags.

4. Refuse the Airline Food Pack

Have you noticed the airline food pack? Airline food is a plastic package wrapped up together. Plastic straw, plastic cups, the plastic wrappings. Oh, God! Plastic everywhere. Think about the amount of plastic that every traveler in the world consumes during the flight. Henceforth, refuse the airline food. Its better you pack some home-made food such as a sandwich or something else which is much healthy compared to the airline's food package. The plastic airline food package is wholly unacceptable practices of Airlines Company.

5. Carry Your Cutlery

It is easy to refuse plastic cutlery. Whether it be a knife, spoon, fork set, or something else, carry your cutlery during your travel.

6. Avoid Plastic Containers when Buying Street Food

Traveling around the world brings you to various markets and also street vendors. In Asian countries, street foods are very famous. If you are a street food addict, then you will taste the meals during the visit to Asian countries like Thailand, Nepal, and many more. Plastic waste packers are more likely to be consumed. Taking the tasty spicy and cheap street foods in the plastic, then you are the part of the problem.

Don't worry. The solution is here. Henceforth, carry your portable camping bowl or food box during the travel. Wherever you order the street foods, avoid plastic containers, take the food in your bowl. It may sound weird, but this is an excellent way towards less plastic consumption.

7. Don't Use Single-Use Plastic in Hotels.

There are lots of bathroom kinds of stuff in the hotel. It is part of the gesture to the customers. This stuff is made of plastic in tiny cute shapes and is for only single-use. Don't use them.Henceforth carry your shampoo, soap, and conditioner in leak-proof bottles to avoid single-use plastic in hotels.

8. Stop Buying "Travel-Sized" Stuffs

Travel-sized things, only a few times of use. People love buying travel-sized stuff such as shampoo, toothpaste, and many more, as it's quite comfortable during the travel. Let's think once, the tiny travel-sized kinds of stuff don't even last for a week sometimes. The handful amount you use it once and throw the tubes in the dustbin somewhere.

Stop buying "Travel-Sized "Stuff. Go big and pack it properly and managed it in your toiletries bag. So you can carry it easily unpacking it in the bathroom

9.Purchase Beverages in Glass Bottles instead of Plastic

Glasses of Bottles while traveling? It's quite tricky. If possible, avoid purchasing beverages in plastic bottles. Plastic cups are famous for selling tea. One thing we can do, avoid the plastic cups and ask for a glass cup. Aluminum cans can be the alternative use as they can be recycled.

10.Carry your Head Phone/Ear Buds

The airline companies provide the earbuds as part of the gesture on the long-haul flight. They are of less-quality and uncomfortable made of plastic, which we use once or twice. Henceforth, don't accept the earbuds from the flight attendant, it's better you carry your headphone/earbuds and enjoy your flight.

11.Say No to Plastic Straws

Everywhere you buy a drink; you are going to get a plastic straw. Wherever you buy a drink, dare to say "No to plastic straws." While having your favorite soft drinks, cocktails, or sipping it from the cup, you don't even need a straw. Also, if you need, ask for the bamboo or metal straw.

12.Buy a Bamboo Tooth Brush

Bamboo Tooth Brush is an eco-friendly alternative, which is a pretty good idea. Replace your plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush, which is natural and fully biodegradable.

13.Use Bio-Degradable Wet Wipes

Wet Wipes are the favorite of every traveler. Everyone uses it often. The maximum use of wipes wash creates a hump collection of pollution on the beaches every year. Let's be wise. Choose the bio-degradable wet wipes made of fibers which are eco-friendly for the world.

14.Use a Menstrual Cup

Hey Ladies! What's going on? Traveling during the periods or getting periods during the travel is very suffering that only ladies know. Now, here with a good idea of using a menstrual cup during the trip, which is pretty good for the environment and easy to carry during the travel. One menstrual cup can avoid many-more plastic pads and can use more times as it is easily washable and reusable. Ladies, try it once.

15.Stop Using Face Wash with Micro Plastic Scrubbing Beads

Stop using the cosmetic products, micro plastic scrubbing beads in the gels, and creams for the face wash-up, which are directly ending up in the collection of a lump of plastics together in the ocean. Use natural alternatives such as clay sand, turmeric, and coffee making at home or directly buying it.

16.Pick Up Trash Wherever you go.

Have you ever thought about it before? If not, then do it. Picking up the plastics, trash such as wrappers, foils, papers that comes on the way of your travel and hike will contribute a lot in making the environment clean and reducing the chances of ingestion of rubbish by innocent animals thinking it as food or something else. Henceforth, pick it up and carry it on your bag and put it in the dustbin.

17.Always Book an Eco Tour

Eco-tour simply means an eco-friendly tour, which also focus on less-use of plastics. The eco-friendly tour has the principle of leaving no traces behind. Henceforth, make sure that you book a tour, then it's going to be an eco-tour. Do the research homework again before you book it.

18.Buy quality backpacking gears.

Traveling is expensive on its own. We need different traveling and backpacking gears such as jackets, bags, hiking boots, water bottles, and many more. Invest in Quality Backpacking Gears; it doesn't last forever but let it last long. Buying the traveling gears time and again is quite uneconomical and not eco-friendly. Save money in the long-term and contribute to the reduction of plastics.

Let's contribute to reducing plastic use while traveling. One effort, two efforts, makes a huge difference in saving this earth.