When planning a green holiday, we are thinking about checking the eco-credentials of the lodge, booking a local guide or off-setting our air miles. Additionally a very simple little step towards a more sustainable holiday is to avoid using plastic bottles: Get a stainless steel or thermos bottle and when travelling in areas where water is not drinkable, you can treat your own water with a steripen or purifying tablets. This simple action means a lot to the environment.
Renouncing to plastic bottles means de facto avoiding plastic pollution, at the source. Not only the production of plastic bottles is costly and heavy to the environment but also most plastics cannot be recycled today as many countries do not have a comprehensive waste management system in place. The local communities you are visiting will be thankful for not having to deal with your trash. Moreover when exploring natural wonders and far-off destinations, we are not looking forward to finding trails of discarded plastic waste.
Adopting a reusable water bottle also protects the oceans and marine life. As plastics cannot completely decompose, they end up in landfills or are left to wander around in the nature, eventually making their way to the oceans. We know so far about 5 so-called gyres in our planet’s oceans where trash is accumulating and slowly contaminates the whole marine food chain. Plastics are broken down by currents into smaller pieces and in the process release poisonous substances such as PCBs and hydrocarbons. Studies have found that fishes, birds and other marine animals in contact with these substances are showing higher levels of contaminants in their bodies. Eventually we are also subject to eating the contaminated fishes.
Ultimately having a reusable water bottle saves your money as well as saves the planet. So this is a lot of power in your hands!
Now if you want to make it official, you can even join the “travellers against plastic” and take the pledge to travel without plastic bottle and spread the word. Travel smarter with your reusable water bottle!