In the previous episode we talked to, Sal Lavallo one of the youngest people to have visited every single country in the world.  

In this episode, I will be sharing with you some of my tips to travel more sustainable and how being a little prepared can save a lot of waste. The average person on a flight creates around 1kg of waste, with a full plane and a lot of travelling that certainly adds up. 

Episode Highlights

[01:17] Reusable water bottle.

[01:34] Most airports have water fountains, you might just have to ask around to find the closest one to you.

[02:18] Reusable Bag

[02:19] I would also have a reusable bag in my handbag or backpack.

[02:45] Reusable coffee cup

[03:00] This will allow me to enjoy a good cappuccino without using a single-use plastic during the journey.

[03:29] Cutlery

[03:41] The cutlery set has helped me a lot of times to be able to refuse any single-use cutlery during the journey.

[03:49] Beeswax wrap or a reusable container.

[03:58] I would use this for takeout food and leftovers while travelling. I use them to store the food that I would consume during the journey as well.

[04:24] Reusable Straws

[04:31] I do enjoy a good Pina Colada when on holiday but do not enjoy the single-use plastic straw that it so often comes with it.

[04:49] Headset

[04:52] As I often travel, I have invested in a good headset. This allows me to use my headset every single time I travel and avoid to have to open a headset in a single-use plastic bag.

0: My final tip for today is to do what you can and feel comfortable with to start with. Living a more sustainable life is a journey and not a race.

Key Take Away

“As I often travel, I have invested in a good headset. This allows me to use my headset every single time I travel and avoid to have to open a headset in a single-use plastic bag”

A good headset has not only helped me to reduce the amount of single-use plastic that I use during a flight but it is also a lot more comfortable to use. I purchased a small adaptor that allows me to plug in my headset. It is only recently that I invested in a headset that has noise cancellation as well. I can not even begin to tell you how much I enjoy using it. I normally catch a lot of red eyes and require to sleep on the flight with times. I have been able to switch it on, while listening to some music and sleep through people snoring, babies crying and food services. You will soon find that there are more and more items that you can switch out for reusable items that do not require packaging every single time you use it.

About the author, Mariska

Hi and welcome! My name is Mariska. I am originally from South Africa, but now call the world my home. I am an artist, designer, environmentalist, podcast host and speaker.

I started the Mama Earth Talk podcast in 2018 to share some of the things that I learned about just how easy it can be to reduce your impact on the environment. This then quickly grew into a forum that showcases the amazing things that many people are doing to make the planet better, and further into a source of hope and inspiration for many. A few of the amazing guests include Zero Waste Queen, Bea Johnson, Claude Silver, Kathryn Kellogg and zero waste chef Max La Manna.

If you do not already I urge you to follow me and my journey on social media (@designbymariska), and to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot your own waste using the handy tips I post!