As a person who strives to achieve equilibrium in my daily life, I often think about ways to balance out my massive carbon footprint (the result of years of flying to foreign destinations) by making responsible choices once I've reached my chosen destination. Thankfully, as public awareness has grown on the topic of sustainability, a number of responsible travel options have emerged, giving travelers more choices now than ever before. However, I find that some of the most effective ways to make a positive impact on the local environment is to start with simple changes. That's why on my trip to Southeast Asia this year, I decided to focus on my consumption of plastic.
Many of us are aware of the problem with plastic pollution and take measures to reduce and recycle when we're at home, but what do we do when we're on vacation? For many years, I accepted plastic as a "necessary evil" when I was abroad, believing that if I wanted to drink clean, fresh-tasting water, I had no choice but to purchase the kind that comes in a bottle. However, a trip to India last year made me think twice. The juxtaposition of exquisite beauty and aching poverty aside, I was alarmed by the amount of visible trash, much of which consisted of plastic bottles and bags. The discarded remnants of our consumption lined streets, filled waterways, littered sidewalks, and lay in heaps along railroad tracks. While walking along a road in Bundi, I even saw a cow eating a plastic container. Sacred or no, people drink the milk from those cows.
Rest assured, getting cows to eat all of the excess plastic is not the solution of local government officials. Believe it or not, an effort is often made to educate the people about reducing their plastic consumption, but dealing with trash takes both money and a certain amount of infrastructure, both of which can be in short supply in developing countries. And what to do about the tourists? Developing countries rely on our tourist dollars to help sustain their economy, but they have little control over those of us who swoop in, spend our money, and then leave our trash.
So this year, I tried something different. I did some research on compact water filtration systems and purifiers and discovered the SteriPEN, which is a handy travel-sized water purifier that uses ultraviolet light to purify water; in fact, it is the same purification technology that is used by manufacturers of bottled water. I packed the SteriPEN and an empty 1-liter container in my luggage and when I arrived in Bangkok, I filled my container with tap water and swirled the SteriPEN around in the water for a few minutes. Voila! Drinkable water. I admit that I regarded the SteriPEN with a healthy amount of skepticism at first--especially since I have a long history of getting sick in developing countries--but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the SteriPEN fast and convenient, but this trip to Asia was the first time in five years that I haven't gotten sick. I was sold.
And what about the plastic bags, you might ask? I also brought my Envirosax, which is a reusable nylon bag that can be folded down to the size of your fist. I used this bag for all of my purchases, but also discovered that having an extra bag on hand was useful for things like laundry or to carry the items that no longer fit into my overflowing luggage (I think we've all experienced the 'mysteriously expanding luggage' phenomenon). Further, I refused any offer of plastic bags and also elected not to purchase foods or beverages that used plastic bags as their containers (for example, in SE Asia drinks are often sold in plastic bags instead of cups). For those who drink soda and juice, this might be a tough choice; for me, I found the heat in Asia to be so dehydrating that the only thing that would quench my thirst was water, so choosing my purified water over a plastic bag of juice or soda was an easy sacrifice.
Making a positive impact by subtracting our plastic is just one of many ways that we can make an immediate difference on our environment--and since plastic is in use all around the world, it's something we can do when we're at home, as well. When it comes to making earth-friendly changes in our lives, we all determine what works best for our lifestyles and resources. My hope is that when we travel, we extend the efforts that we make at home to our chosen destinations, regardless of where that might be. I think we can all agree that this is one area where we simply can't afford to take a vacation.
