"GREEN" TRAVELER IDEAS
"GREEN" TRAVELER IDEAS
HOTEL STAYS:
- Let the hotel know that it's not necessary to change your sheets and towels every day.
- Reduce the amount of water used for bathing or showering.
- When you leave your hotel room, turn off the lights and TV.
- Recycle. Place recyclables in appropriate bins.
- Carry a dry cleaning or grocery bag with you in which to carry dirty laundry home.
- Leave little bottles of amenities in the guestroom if unused.
- Let hotel management know, with your comments to management or a note, that you want them to conserve and that you want to participate.
- Patronize hotels, airlines, tour operators who support "greening" programs.
- It might be wise to pack night lights for hotel stays instead of leaving bathroom lights (and fans) on all night.
FOOD/RESTAURANTS:
- Reduce fast food waste whenever possible.
- Avoid room service and carryout.
- When offered individual packages of condiments, take only what you'll use.
- If you commonly take home leftovers from restaurant meals, carry a container, a square of aluminum foil or a square of waxpaper with you. You'll be responsible for putting less styrofoam into the waste stream.
ECOTOURISM:
- Take only the brochures or maps necessary. Return others to the brochure stand.
- Don't buy endangered species products such as tortoise shell, ivory, animal skins or feathers. Don't purchase star fish or turtle-shell related souvenirs or any creature that may have been put to death for the sale of a gift shop. These animals may have been killed specifically for tourist trade. Sea shells are questionable. The U. S. Customs offers a list of items which cannot be imported or brought into the country.
- Make a pledge to yourself not to maim or kill any living creature other than enemy or pest insects. Educate yourself as to which are truly "pests".
- Use binoculars and cameras to "hunt" animals.
- Take only photographs. Do not take "souvenirs" from natural areas, historical areas or hotels.
- Leave only footprints. Take everything out that you brought with you. No graffiti, no litter.
- Support conservation programs.
- Pick up at least one piece of litter every day - especially at national tourist locations which are vulnerable to huge tourist populations.
OTHER:
- Use your own camera. Disposable cameras are very wasteful and expensive.
- Buy rolls of film with 36 shots rather than 12 or 24. Packaging waste is reduced, and you'll save about 40%.
- Write legibly on your film package. Kodak discards 400,000 rolls of film annually because the return address is illegible.
- Expensive cosmetic bags are unnecessary and often do not prevent spills. Use lockable plastic bags for cosmetics. Separate bath needs and makeup needs.
- Rather than buying small size toothpaste tubes, squeeze some toothpaste into a clean contact lens case or contact lens cleaning capsule. These are also handy for carrying salves or pills. Be sure to mark appropriately.
- Give yourself a pat on the back for doing all you can to protect Mother Earth.
Written by: "Green" Hotels Association®
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