Responsible Tourism: Simple Tips to Reduce Waste on your Road Trip

January 23, 2018 in Tips for Travellers and Camping hacks

Most of us aim for something of a lower maintenance existence whilst on the road, partly because it is more practical, not to mention sustainable travel is more of a necessity now than ever. Being immersed in nature to bring your environmental sympathies to mind. We wrote this blog to help promote responsible tourism and give you some useful tips. The following 6 simple tips for reducing waste are ones we think will be most useful.

#1 Bring your own bags if you need to go shopping.

To be honest this should be common sense by now. Most of us have an ample selection of bags for life that we purchased the dozen times we forgot to bring a bag to the shops. Simply make sure you bring a few of these on your road trip and shop with pride. It might be a step further than some people are willing to go, but you can even buy loose vegetables without the plastic grocery bag, which could enable your shopping on the road to have little to no plastic. That’s a pretty heroic feat in its own small way.

Goboony Reduce Waste bags for life shopping

#2 Bring your own refillable bottles

If you’ve been living under a rock this past year and somehow missed the spectacular Blue Planet II, allow me to fill you in. PLASTIC WASTE IS BAD, due in no small part to how much of it ends up in the oceans. Toxins released by microplastics are having an averse and damaging effect on marine life. You can get some really beautiful and well made reusable bottles for reasonable prices completely eliminating this waste on a personal level; baby dolphins will thank you for it!

Goboony reusable bottles waste reduction road trip

#3 Tupperware instead of sandwich bags.

Most of the motorhomes on Goboony have cooking facilities and something of a kitchen area. This means you can make sandwiches or even something more complex in the comfort of your own [motor] home, before heading out for a day of adventure. A couple of containers can fulfil the role otherwise taken by a dozen or so disposable bags, It may not be as convenient but it certainly makes a positive difference, and is classier than eating out of a bag.

Goboony tupperware reduce waste road trip camping

#4 Cardboard is better than plastic

Cardboard packaging is better than plastic. This is especially true if you have brought a camping barbecue or portable fire with you. The cardboard can be used to help get the fire started and dispose of your waste at the same time. Do not burn plastic (this should go without saying), as not only will both taint your food and stink, it will make you unpopular with other campers in the area.

Goboony reduce waste cardboard box road trip\

#5 Bring a portable ashtray if you smoke.

This will likely only apply to a few of you, however it is important for those smokers out there who wish to practice sustainable tourism. There is actually a fine for throwing your finished cig on the ground of £80 though I have yet to see this be enforced myself. Portable ashtrays can be bought online for less than a pound and will make sure you can smoke with reverence to the environment around you. Nothing breaks ones immersion into nature like seeing rubbish in the campsite and cigarette butts are no exception. They contain fiberglass and do not simply biodegrade like some people think they do. There may not be a nearby bin for your cigarettes so this handy and very inexpensive solution may be ideal. If you don’t get round to getting one of these ashtrays simply improvise, the goal is not to litter.

Goboony portable ash tray smoking litter reduction

#6 Replace disposable cups with a reusable coffee cup

These have really grown in popularity in the last year, and some coffee places even offer a discount if you bring your own mug to get your fix of caffeine. This is a great incentive as it means that you will save money in the long run by changing your behaviour to be more environmentally friendly, let’s face it being ethical is that much easier when incentivised.goboony reusable coffee cups waste reduction camping

As an experiment you can even try and use these responsible tourism principles above when at home. You will likely surprise yourself at how much you can reduce the amount of waste your produce! Another bonus of sustainable travel whilst on your road trip is that you will have less to clean up before you drop it off at the end of the holiday!

#Letscampsustainably