It's no secret my love for travel runs deep. The number of destinations I plan to go to discover and explore far out numbers the places I have been, but I hope to even that out a little more each year. As I travel to new destinations it is hard not to notice the amount of disposable plastic that I find myself (and all the other guests or travelers) using during my trip; A plastic straw with each tasty beverage, often times plastic cups from these same amazing cocktails, many times plastic utensils with my meals from local dining on the go and so, so, so many disposable plastic water bottles. Many resorts and tour operators will provide disposable water bottles throughout your trip for the fear of you drinking contaminated water or sometimes just for convenience. During my intensive Active & Adventure Travel Specialist training I have been learning some very disturbing information about the impact the disposable plastic used during travel is having on our environment, specifically on the sealife. For instance, are you aware of the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch", this is an island of floating debris and plastic that is three times the size of France and growing?! It is estimated that 13 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the ocean every year.
"Travelers Against Plastic" or TAP as they are called aims to get single use plastic out of the tourism industry for good as well as help to clean up and keep plastic out of our natural areas in destinations around the world. I encourage you to go to their website and pledge to reduce plastic pollution. They also have many ways listed on their site that you can help fight the battle of plastic and participate in their active clean up efforts.
I am asking all my clients to consider bringing reusable water bottles on their trips as one great step in reducing the plastic waste. Most resorts are happy to mix those yummy cocktails in your own reusable cups...and don't forget your metal or paper straws! Worried about water contamination on your trips? No problem. There are three types of water purification systems on the market specifically geared towards travel that make it so you can drink clean, purified water from anywhere so there's no need for those one use water bottles! The three types of filtration systems include electronic, chemical and mechanical. The electronic options include UV Light Steri-Pen or CrazyCap. These clean up to 8,000 bottles and one charge can last 10-14 days and average about $.001 for each use. An example of an electronic filtration option is found here. Chemical filtration options are also available, these are tablets that you add to each water bottle to clean the water, they do take about 35 minutes to take effect but are a cheaper option then the electric. You can find one option here. Lastly, is the mechanical filtration option. These are good for even turbid water making them great for rivers, there are cartridge filters that need to be replaced making the price about $.015 per bottle of water. Click here for an example. Now if you're only hitting an all inclusive resort, you may not need any filtration system at all, just the water bottle but if you are heading on a safari or a hike up Machu Picchu these are a great way to reduce the need for disposable plastic.
HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Log onto TAP's website and take the PLEDGE TO REDUCE PLASTIC POLLUTION (It's FREE) once you've done that, send me a screenshot of your pledge to adventuretravelandcruising@gmail.com or post it on my Facebook page and you will be entered. I will draw one winner a month for your choice of a reusable water bottle or a Potable Aqua Tabs.
Together, we can reduce the use of disposable plastic in the travel industry and do our part to help the sea life, because although my love for travel is obvious, what you may not be aware of is my incredible passion for the Sea Turtle and they are greatly affected by the plastic debris in our oceans. Here is more information on that!
Thanks for reading and happy travels!
~Sherry