5 ways to reduce your environmental impact whilst travelling

As someone who likes to travel, but is also conscious of living a sustainable life, reducing my environmental impact whilst travelling has become a priority. Here are some tips to help you reduce your impact!

1.     Reducing single use plastic bottles.

One of the main contributors to plastic waste whilst abroad is water bottles. We can’t drink the local water so resort to buying plastic bottles whilst we’re away. The first tip is to get hold of a re-usable bottle (if you don’t have one already). If you’re staying in a hostel, boil some water (as long as it’s not salty or too contaminated) and leave it to cool in the fridge overnight, or use water purification tablets if you’re in a hurry, or can’t boil water.  At Green Light Ventures, we ask our volunteers to drink 2 litres of water per day on our trips, to stay hydrated and reduce the risks of illnesses. But we also don’t want to create that much plastic waste. So 100% of the water we give you will be from re-usable containers. And, we’ll give you a Green Light Ventures 8-hour cool bottle to ensure you stay hydrated without creating waste.

2.     Let’s talk about Periods.

Periods are a pain. And getting your period whilst you’re abroad can create waste. We provide all you lovely female volunteers with a reusable menstrual cup, or pad, that can be used on your trip. If you’ve not used them before, they take a while to get used to, but are a great alternative to single use products whilst you’re away!

3.     Plastic free toiletries, and other stuff!

One of my favourite parts of going on a trip, is going shopping for some nice, new shiny toiletries. However, toiletries can cause a large amount of packaging waste.

• Go naked

I’ve been using LUSH naked shampoos, shower gels and conditioners for over a year now, and if I’m honest-I’m sold! There are a number of other stores that also sell solid toiletries, and these can really help you reduce your waste. As a bonus, I’ve also found they take up about a 1/3 of the space in my backpack, weigh a lot less and don’t spill, so the perfect travelling alternative!

• Sun screen

I’ve found sun screen one of the hardest items to source plastic-free, however Greenify-me has a great list of plastic-free alternatives that are also perfect if you do snorkelling, or diving as they don’t affect the reefs! http://www.greenify-me.com/2018/07/zero-waste-sunscreen-6-plastic-free-reef-safe.html

• Other toiletries

There are a million other things you could work on to find plastic free, or repurposed alternatives. Have a good old search (use tree-planting Ecosia as an alternative to Google!) for deodorant, mosquito repellent (make sure it’s at least 50% DEET if you high risk areas), flip flops, bikinis, toothpaste, reusable straws, collapsible coffee cups, the list is endless! Also try the Sustainable Superstore https://sustainablesuperstore.com/ if you’re UK-based. They’re great!

Our store is work in progress, but allows you to buy some sustainable, low or zero waste products that you can bring with you on your trip. If we don’t sell it, we’ll point you in the direction of other places that you can buy it!

4.    Plastic projects

If you’re volunteering, try and work on plastic clean-up initiatives. We work with our local communities to collect and repurpose the plastic waste around them. If you’re not volunteering, invest in the community and simple pick up as much waste as you can whilst you travel!

5.     Plant some trees!

One of the biggest negative impacts of travel is the travel itself. But one of the best ways to counteract this? Sink your carbon! There are many tree planting projects that you can donate to or partner with as you travel. We partner with GreenStand, an amazing charity that provides local women with income by encouraging them to plant trees. Trees are vital to us all. Locally, they help bring water to the local area, and also store water in the soil, meaning that other crops can grow. And, of course, trees provide shade and help us to clean the air around us. If you volunteer with us, we strive to ensure that every volunteer who embarks on our adventures abroad plants at least 50 trees. This allows you to off-set your carbon foot print of the whole trip, from your journey to the airport, to your journey back home!

By taking some small steps, and re-thinking how you travel, you can start to make more of a positive impact through your travels!