Earlier this month I escaped the winter temperatures of the Midwest and flew to Sayulita, Mexico with my husband. We had four wonderful days of surfing, birds watching, and warm 80 degree weather. It was amazing.
When I’m traveling, I always try to set myself up for success and bring the appropriate tools to help me decrease my waste. It is important to me that I don’t leave behind wrappers, plastic, and other non-organic goods, for the country that I am traveling in to dispose of.
During my most recent trip to Sayulita I learned some great lessons about how to stay zero waste while vacationing in Mexico. I hope you can learn from my experiences and use these five easy tricks to decrease your waste on your next trip!
1. Avoid the all-inclusive resort and instead stay at an Airbnb or VRBO
Staying at an Airbnb or VRBO affords you much more flexibility than a regular old hotel room or inclusive resort. You typically have access to a kitchen, refrigerator, and other amenities that come with a house. Our Airbnb in Sayulita included free jugs of water that were refillable at the local tienda (corner store). This meant we never had to purchase bottled water. Plus, we had access to a kitchen so that we could cook some of our own meals, reheat leftovers from our meals out, and make our own coffee and cocktails, saving not only coffee cups and straws, but money!
2. Bring a reusable straw
I love drinking pina coladas, tropical smoothies, and coconut water right from the coconut. But each of these street vendors wanted to put a brightly colored plastic straw in my drink because that’s what most tourists want. By bringing my own straw, I could politely say “sin popote” and didn’t have to accept a straw.
3. Bring a reusable bag
I avoided so much plastic waste by bringing my reusable bag– I used it several times a day. I went to the local fruit market and stocked up on fruit every morning, then my reusable bag became my purse and beach bag in the afternoon, then often I carried my to-go orders home from the restaurant/taco stand. We used it constantly to avoid using a plastic bag.
4. Visit the local tienda/fruit stand
Do as the locals do and shop at the wonderful fruit stands and markets. On our way to Sayulita we passed a Sam’s Club, and the parking lot was packed. I wondered, would we have trouble getting good local food in Sayulita? The answer was a big fat “no!”. Tiendas with locally grown mangos, pineapples, farm fresh eggs, and freshly baked bread were everywhere. We were able to purchase wonderful food for very cheap and it was all package free.
5. Bring your own water purification system and avoid plastic water bottles
Plastic is harmful to every environment, but in developing countries plastic often ends up in areas where it shouldn’t be; such as the ocean. And recycling systems in developing countries aren’t up to par to a developed nation, so you shouldn’t rely on recycling as an option for your plastic water bottle. To avoid the need to purchase a plastic water bottle, bring your own water purification system so that you can drink the water. I’ve personally used Iodine tablets, a LifeStraw, and a SteriPEN.
Happy traveling!
Great tips! I look forward to using them!