By Geraldine Mills
Sustainability is a hot button topic in modern society and for a good reason. We are beginning to experience the harmful effects of treating mother nature poorly. Not only is it bad for flora and fauna around us, but it is negatively affecting ourselves as well.
There are a lot of things that we do in our lives that have a lot of adverse effects on our environment—some of the things that we do that harm the environment aren’t even malicious actions. For example, the travel industry generates a lot of carbon footprint and pollution.
Even though when someone travels for their vacation or beach holiday, they don’t mean to create or generate more carbon footprint. It just ends up happening that way sometimes. To help reduce the amount of carbon footprint that one makes when travelling, it requires a certain level of self-consciousness with how we travel.
With that said, there are many ways you can change your travelling habits to make it more sustainable while you’re out on your beach holiday. Below are just some of the few things that you can do to reduce your negative effect on mother nature as you travel.
1. Seek out sustainable stays
One of the most straightforward changes you can apply to your travel habits is simply by becoming more conscious of your accommodations during travel. When you are out on your beach holiday, you might want to look into the hotel that incorporates a lot of green practices in the maintenance of their place.
Certain hotels could even get awarded based on how green they are when they manage their hotels. Also, if you’re not staying at a hotel, there are Airbnb accommodations that accommodate green practices in how they maintained their rental.
Being more particular with the places that you stay in for your holiday is a simple change, but it’s a step in the right direction. You don’t even have to make much effort. You only need to do a short amount of research beforehand.
2. Reduce your carbon footprint
A lot of people that travel to a specific place for the first time rely on renting a car or taking a taxi to get to where they want to go. However, choosing a cab or using a private vehicle to get you where you need to generate a lot of carbon footprint. Instead of doing that, it’s better that you take public transportation to go to the beach instead.
It’s a great way to see the place you are travelling to in a different light. At the same time, you are reducing your carbon footprint by a lot.
Make sure that you prepare your luggage for public transportation to make it easier for you. The carry-on baggage will be ones that are easy to use when you are using public transit. You want it to be portable and light, but you also want it to be sturdy.
3. Take care of your trash properly
Learning how best to dispose of your waste will help you reduce the pollution that you generate when you travel. It’s okay if you engage in recycling while you are in a particular place, but merely disposing of your trash in the proper receptacles is an easy and straightforward way to reduce your pollution.
Do not leave any trash by the seaside because it can get swept away by the waves. Keep your garbage in your bag, and then leave it in a trashcan once you leave the beach.
4. Bring reusable bottles
A lot of plastic bottles get thrown all over the place, which ends up polluting the environment. Since it’s plastic, it takes a long time before these plastic bottles rot from the environment.
Instead of contributing to this cycle of garbage, you should bring reusable bottles with you. You can then refill your bottle anytime you need to drink anything.
5. Check your sunscreen
Before you go to the beach, you likely have to pack sunscreen with you to protect you from the UV rays. However, some sunscreen ingredients can be harmful to the underwater creatures of the sea.
Do your research beforehand and figure out which sunscreens don’t damage any of the coral reef or marine life.
6. Pick a blue beach
If you’re planning on going on a beach holiday, then you should consider looking for beaches with the blue flag label certification. This label indicates that the beach or certain cities are committed to sustainable tourism. Going to these beaches shows that you support conservation efforts and that you are practising sustainability even while you are enjoying yourself.
7. Join a cleanup
You might want to dedicate a few hours of your vacation, helping the environment recover from human intervention. Depending on where you’re travelling, you might want to research any cleanups in the area and join them. Some of these cleanups don’t even take a whole day, so you might as well help around while you’re there.
Being more sustainable doesn’t mean you have to let go of some of your joys in life, including travelling. With the help of these tips listed above, you can take your beach holiday with ease and comfort, knowing that you’re doing your best and your part to remain sustainable.
