Traveling Without Single-Use Plastic – there is some progress!!
We McSisters had a wonderful January traveling to South America, although we didn’t travel together this time. I (Frances), my husband, and my daughter went to Argentina and Chile to visit friends and to enjoy the scenery and wildlife of Patagonia. I was pleased by the dearth of single-use plastic in Argentina and Chile in the food service business. For 25 days, I and my family had breakfast in our hotel and ate nearly every other meal in a restaurant and once took food to go. Only once in all that time did a drink come with a plastic straw – the rest of the time, there was either no straw or the straws were stainless steel or paper and food was always served on “real” dishes. At Nahuel Huapi National Park we ate lunch in the café. My salad came in a glass bowl, the sandwiches were served on plates, and the silverware was metal. It seemed so easy but has become a rare experience in the U.S. I asked our friends in Argentina and learned that the City of Buenos Aires has banned disposable plastic bags and straws and is promoting reusable bottles and encouraging bars and restaurants to serve tap water. Implementation of the law is slowly spreading to the entire country.
Eliminating single-use plastic water bottles has been harder to achieve. At the hotels, water was available in self-serve pitchers available to refill reusable water bottles, but it was difficult to get a glass of tap water at a restaurant. When we asked for water we were offered a plastic water bottle unless we were assertive and asked for tap water. We learned to ask for tap water using the Argentinian Spanish words. My sister Barbara spoke with a local Argentinian woman working in the hotel industry and was told that the sale of bottled water is highly profitable so difficult for the restaurants to give up. The tap water is safe to drink so we filled our bottles at the hotels and took them with us everywhere and ordered fresh drinks in the restaurants, so they still made a profit. Plastic bottles aside, it was wonderful to see the remarkable shifts in all other single-use plastic.
The change in the law happened because community groups and individuals advocated for the changes. According to the organization called C40 (a network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading cities), the ban led to 1 billion fewer bags in circulation in Buenos Aires and overall reduced waste significantly. It was very evident that the ban and the encouragement was effective. Such bans can be implemented everywhere in the world, one step at a time. And, we have many allies in our quest - there are organizations and activists all over the world working to shift away from single-use plastic.
What can you do?
Review:https://www.c40.org/case-studies/buenos-aires-reduces-single-use-plastics/ for more information about Argentina.
Research the water quality of the places you plan to visit in advance. Bring a water filter if necessary. There are many on the market. We brought this one. https://www.rei.com/product/116364/katadyn-befree-10-l-water-filter-bottle-338-fl-oz. It was helpful to fill the water filter bag before leaving the hotel and keep it on hand when your bottle was empty.
Always carry your reusable water bottle when traveling. We managed to travel throughout Argentina and Chile without ever drinking from a single-use plastic bottle. Be creative and persistent and it can be done!
Bring reusable utensils and reusable bags for snacks wherever you travel.
Use refillable containers for your toiletries.
