I love the challenge of travelling without creating waste beyond the fossil fuels that are required to move this body from A to B! Okay, that is saying a lot right there, so why should I add to the environmental cost of my life by purchasing packaged goods.
Before leaving home I use a mini or medium mothering Mother bag, and put in it various dried fruits, and some nuts or seeds, or both. I take a reusable travel mug, tea bags, and a drinking bottle that I am reusing. In our home when a Snapple appears I use it for months on end, until accidentally forgetting it somewhere. These glass bottles can be washed well with a bottle brush, and they do not carry the toxins that a plastic bottles do. Also, you can put a warm liquid in a glass bottle without the worry that the heat of the beverage is releasing more toxins.
If flying, security will allow the bottles to go through if they are empty of liquids. Once you are on “the other side”, fill the bottle with water from a fountain, and use the travel mug for tea or coffee. Enjoy your own fruit, or purchase some at the kiosks at the airport where they usually sell oranges, apples and bananas. Note that dried fruit and nuts are for sale at airports, but you can enjoy your food that you brought from home, in your reusable bag, fruit which was purchased in bulk! Oh, the joy!
If you are travelling by car, then pack your own filtered water in larger bottles and keep refilling a smaller container for drinking. You have the travel mug for hot drinks at gas station breaks. Bring food from your home for the trip, all in reusable containers. Don’t forget to pack some cutlery, and roll it up carefully in a cloth napkin! Food tastes so much better when eaten with stainless steel versus plastic.
A nice container for salads or food from a restaurant gives you the choice of eating quality food while on the road, without needless packaging. Below is a concise list to help make your next trip lighter on the environment. And while you are doing all of this travelling, and eating fruit and nuts, and salads, you just might burn up a few extra calories that have been sitting “around”, waiting to be put to good use!
Did I mention the money that you will save? Add that to the list of benefits!
Reusable Water Bottle
Travel Mug (300 million coffee cups go in the garbage each day in the USA!)
Cotton Bag with nuts, seeds, dried fruit (almonds, raisins, mango, banana, dates, figs…)
Containers for Salads or Meals to Take Out
Cutlery
Napkins
Your Sense of Environmental Adventure!
Play with it, and safe travels to you!
Shanthi