From October 26th to October 28th I went on my college marching band trip to St. Louis, MO. A lot of the time traveling can be one of the biggest opportunities to produce more waste than usual. It's also a big opportunity to produce less waste and have a lower impact than usual. If you prepare the right way, and are conscious while traveling, a low impact (and plastic free!) trip will be easily obtainable. For days One and Two, check out this blog post. Day three: The Dome Day three was our performance at The Dome at America's Center. We were relying on the Dome concessions to give us both lunch and dinner. I was a little nervous about that, because I was picturing plastic and dairy, so I brought all my snacks as a backup. The fries came in a paper cup, and the cup was not waxy, meaning that it could be recycled/breaks down easier. I was definitely excited to have found a way around the plastics and Styrofoam that most concessions use. I even noticed that the nachos and pizzas came in paper-like containers as well, instead of their normal plastic. For dinner I had one of their veggie burgers and another fountain drink. I was definitely glad and surprised that they had options for me. Day four: Going Home On day four, the day we left, I got up to eat breakfast at the hotel. When I got there, they had plastic plates out instead of the real ones,
Breakfast was a little discouraging, but I knew the rest of the day would be fine. We stopped at the same mall for a lunch/dinner, so I got Moe's and a Coca-Cola Freestyle drink again. This time, however, we spotted a little stand with bulk candy. They had paper bags to put the candy in, and weighed it by pound. I love sour candies, and it's hard to find them plastic free, so we got some candy. I didn't get a picture because my hands were holding a bunch of stuff. ThoughtsI was definitely excited that the only plastic I used this trip was three plates, two utensils, and one tiny spoon. I also am not that excited, because I was really hoping I would go without any plastic. I know that the plastic I used was for the most part unavoidable, but I also know that I can do better next trip. The next trip I go on, I will have a little more control over where I eat, and honestly I might bring my own reusable plate for hotel breakfast's. All in all, it was a fun and successful trip. I spent a lot of time with my friends and we got to not worry about school for four days. Back to the topic of low-impact living, without bringing things and preparing ahead of time, I would have used more plastics than I did. It doesn't take much time or money to get things to take with you when you travel. I'm sure most homes have containers and to go tumblers. You can bring metal silverware, but I usually go with plastic so that security checks will be easier than carrying a metal fork and knife. If you don't have reusable straws, they are usually cheap, or you could just get one plastic straw and reuse it for as long as you can. Being low-impact while traveling doesn't have to be hard or expensive. It just takes planning and asking people questions when you're out and about. I hope these two posts help you see what you can do on your travels to be conscious about your impact on the Earth. If you have any questions, feel free to comment them.
Happy traveling!
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December 2018
Ally
Just looking out for the Earth and everyone who lives on it. |