Why is it that the second people leave their home, they become completely helpless and immediately cling to the crutch of convenience? Take a trip and witness.
Tip: Bring a reusable water bottle with you on the plane and fill it up at a restaurant or bathroom past the security gates.
It always perplexes me how many discarded, full plastic water bottles you see before the security gates. Why spend the money on crappy plastic-tasting water when you can bring your own? As I filled my glass bottle in the bathroom a woman stopped and remarked that it was a good idea. Well, yes, but it is so far from rocket science it is not even funny.
Tip: Bring a small vessel for filling with beverages from the airplane cart, should your water not suffice for your hydration needs.
We’ve all been there and gone through countless plastic cups in planes. Zero need for that waste.
Tip: Bring a sandwich or other such lunch instead of opting for the plane fare. Here is a comparison image of my vs. my dad’s lunch.
Let’s get a closer look at his sandwich:
And then his face upon receipt of said sandwich:
I like Iceland Air. Whilst not perfect, at least they don’t force feed you any over-wrapped food; should you choose to forfeit your chance to create less waste, you can pay for it. In this scenario, you realize that most people actually choose not to buy food, meaning they probably eat the free plane fare simply because it is there. An utterly outdated practice don’t you think?
Tip: Dress warmly.
Tip: Pack your own cutlery. And a few extras for your e.g. dad.
Tip: If you see this, run, and refuse to support the company who is so blatantly ruining the planet.
Sadly I only saw one good example of refusal behaviour during my miles in the sky and many hours in airports. It was this: Two men, presumably colleagues, bought beer and pretzels at the Munich airport. One man grabbed the pretzel from the bin, with his hand (wa wa wee wa!), and handed it to the other man. Imagine that! No plastic or other disposable item was involved in the exchange! No bag, no glove, no napkin, no cutlery. Then, the two men sat down and ate their pretzels.
I know you guys will get all this and perhaps be amused-saddened. But the world is so so large, with so many people limping out and about.
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Note:
After I wrote this post I checked my global visitor stats for the past 30 days. The world may be a big place but together, with all our shares, we are conquering it one visit at a time
What a beautiful thing.
# of views by country in the last 30 days:
Canada 1,072, United States 648, United Kingdom 162, Australia 134, Italy 131, Germany 106 (yay for naked pretzels!), Netherlands 97, India 90, Philippines 66, Turkey 62, Mexico 50, Brazil 44, Finland 43, Belgium 39, Romania 38, Hungary 36, Singapore 35, Norway 30, New Zealand 30, Portugal 30, Greece 30, Chile 29, Thailand 27, Slovakia 25, Sweden 23, Egypt 22, Russian Federation 21, Georgia 20, France 20, Spain 20, Switzerland 19, Croatia 16, Indonesia 15, Argentina 15, Bulgaria 14, Denmark 14, Israel 14, Taiwan 14, Ukraine 12, Czech Republic 11, Slovenia 11, Moldova 10, South Africa 10, Algeria 9, Malaysia 9, Colombia 9, Hong Kong 9, Morocco 8, Saudi Arabia 7, Poland 7, Viet Nam 7, Republic of Korea 7, Lithuania 7, Pakistan 6, Iraq 6, United Arab Emirates 6, Serbia 6, Ireland 5, Bangladesh 5, Estonia 5, Cyprus 5, Belarus 5, Austria 5, Kuwait 4, Costa Rica 4, Jordan 4, Macedonia 3, Peru 3, Malta 3, Venezuela 3, Fiji 3, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 3, Mauritius 3, Montenegro 2, Armenia 2, Lebanon 2, Dominica 2, Latvia 2, Mongolia 2, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2, Sri Lanka 2, Iceland 2, Qatar 2, United Republic of Tanzania 1, Syrian Arab Republic 1, Sudan 1, Myanmar 1, Nigeria 1, Japan 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Netherlands Antilles 1, San Marino 1, New Caledonia 1.












7 comments
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April 10, 2012 at 3:20 am
Michelle
The apple…. I dunno what to say about the apple! Un-fucking-believable.
April 10, 2012 at 6:06 am
Kaylen
That’s interesting they let you bring glass. Years ago I used to take Nalgene bottles, which were no problem. Now I take stainless steel bottles, which tend to get a bit more scrutiny but are also fine. That apple is horrible and hilarious.
April 10, 2012 at 6:35 am
Nina
I have a stainless steel water bottle that I’ve taken on planes. I have had a few instances of having to drink a large amount of water all in one go at security. But the air stewards have always been very happy to fill my bottle rather than a plastic cup – it hasn’t even raised an eyebrow or a comment. I also travel with a shawl, an extra pair of woollen socks, and my own headphones. And always my own food, although I can never pack quite enough for a transatlantic flight. I think cutlery’s my next project – last time I saved the plastic cutlery from the outward flight and re-used it on the way home, and it’s been re-used many times since. But when that inevitably cracks, bamboo would be so much nicer.
April 10, 2012 at 7:34 am
Sean Serafini
Wow, great post. It is truly unbelievable how irresponsible our collective attitudes towards food packaging has gotten. I know several people who have become so used to having their food packaged, that when food is sold without a plastic jacket of some sort, they find it unsanitary and unsafe to eat. @Michelle Yea, unvelievable, the apple skin is already its own packaging!
April 12, 2012 at 12:56 pm
sudha
in love with ur blog
April 19, 2012 at 11:45 am
kickingtheplastic
I like your cutlery wrapper
And yeah, the apple – um, yikes.
May 14, 2012 at 5:57 pm
Prue
Love your site, I’m on the plastic free mission too and it’s great to see so many others on board or at least thinking about it!