How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint While Traveling This Summer

Traveling during the summer is an exciting opportunity to relax and explore new places. However, it’s important to be mindful of your impact on the environment while you travel. By choosing eco-friendly destinations, traveling by train or ship, and reducing our waste, we can all do our part to reduce our carbon footprint while still enjoying our vacations. So, there is no need to compromise!

Even if you have a lot on your plate when it comes to your job responsibilities or if you have to retake a test or an exam to avoid repeating a whole academic year, it’s not a reason to give up on relaxing. Address one of the custom admission essay writing service, book a ticket, and go pack your bags! We’ve got some tips on the items you must take with you and where you could go.

Choose Eco-friendly Destinations

Before choosing the place to stay during your vacation, look up information about its mission-vision-values stuff. Don’t forget to compare the original information and customer reviews. That way, you will be able to choose a responsible representative of the hospitality industry. 

For instance, you could go to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and visit the Rock the Ocean beach. Its founders cooperate with local businesses to promote environmental initiatives and create events dedicated to conservation. 

They are committed to promoting environmental awareness and sustainable living. So, the use of plastic and single-use service ware and bottles is prohibited on the Rock the Ocean’s premises. The food is sourced sustainably from local producers and a comprehensive recycling program is also in place to ensure that the festival leaves a minimal ecological footprint.

Travel by Train or Ship

The amount of emissions from one trip by train per person is at least twice smaller than by plane. For some trains, the difference is huge: 20+ times smaller carbon footprint! By the way, traveling by car or bus is not the best option either unless the vehicle is packed with people. And even then – the emission level may be the same as during a flight.

Considering the time efficiency of a train, taking one is the most recommended means of travel. However, if you are not in a hurry, you can even book a sea trip! Sure, that takes much longer, and if it’s your first summer between school and college, you might have to deal with all that stuff like applying for scholarships, writing admission essays, and so on. 

Well, that can’t be easy, but you still need some time off. Otherwise, you may spend your summer worrying about college and after that, dive right into college life with a bunch of assignments and new people. So, choose the best research paper writing service and delegate the admission essay to them. You could even try several services to check which one is better! Finally, you are going to need professional help with academic writing sooner or later, and it’s a good opportunity to start searching for an expert.

Reduce the Potential Waste

Traveling often involves a lot of eating on the go. At some point, it can’t but leave you with the only option: dispose of any type of waste as fast as possible in order to not miss your bus, for example. So, make it a habit to not only look for the tastiest snack in the store but also consider the way you will dispose of the packaging.

Refuse the extra plastic bags, napkins, and any other packaging you might be given at a cafe or a shop when you know for sure you’ll do without them. If you plan on taking food with you while you travel, pack it in a small lunchbox instead of using disposable containers or bags. Later, you can use the box to order takeout from a diner or coffee shop.

Pack Reusable Essentials

Just like when eating on the go, one can generate a lot of waste by using wet wipes, cotton swabs, and so on. And you are bound to use those whether you go hiking in the mountains or go to a public place. To reduce your impact on the environment, it’s a good idea to pack their eco-friendly alternatives with you on your trip. Here are some items you may want to consider bringing:

• a silicone swab instead cotton swabs
• bamboo makeup pads instead of the number of cotton ones
• a set of cutlery (better choose items made of bamboo to make your backpack lightweight)
• reusable bottle and a brush to clean it (don’t forget a small brush for the straw!)
• a cup for other drinks (bamboo would be perfect too)
• a small lunchbox for food

To make sure you keep all those items clean whenever possible, consider also bringing sterilizing tablets.

Recycle Whenever Possible 

Recycling is a great way to reduce waste, but it’s not always possible when traveling. You might not have the opportunity to recycle all kinds of materials just like you are used to doing at home, but even your minimal efforts will matter. It doesn’t mean you should carry around a bag of trash looking for recycling bins though. Just find the balance. You can wash some items you can’t dispose of responsibly right now to keep them clean and do it later. Ask the hotel staff about the places where you can leave glass, metal, plastic, and paper for recycling. Also, non-plastic and heavy items can be left near dumpsters.

Final Word

Pursuing environmental initiatives may seem quite hard when these are only your first steps. And that may seem even harder when you leave your comfort zone, which often happens during travels. However, you can still do your part by disposing of waste responsibly and avoiding single-use plastics whenever possible. 

Remember to pack reusable essentials, choose eco-friendly destinations, and consider traveling by train or ship to reduce your carbon footprint. By taking these small steps, you can enjoy your summer vacation while also protecting the environment. So, be conscious of your choices and have a great summer vacation!