Figured I’d share my latest obsession – trying to travel greener without losing my mind. Not gonna lie, it started with feeling kinda guilty staring at all the plastic bottles rolling around the departure gate last trip. So, I decided to actually try being more ethical about it. Here’s how it went down.
The Airport Hassle
My journey started, obviously, at the airport. First mission: avoid buying plastic. I emptied my usual plastic bottle and stuffed a reusable metal one in my carry-on. TSA made me pull it out to show it was empty, which was annoying, but whatever. Got through security, filled it up at a water fountain – tasted a bit like chlorine, but saved myself five bucks and a landfill item. Small win.
Then came the food. Saw my usual go-to, that overpriced pre-packaged sandwich wrapped in miles of plastic. Walked past it. Took me ages to find a cafe actually using compostable containers for their salads. Grabbed one, and hey, tasted better anyway. Lesson? Airport food doesn’t have to be a plastic nightmare if you look around.
Getting Around Without the Gas Guzzler
Got to my destination city – New York. Usual instinct? Hail a cab. Fought it. Pulled out my phone, figured out the damn subway app instead. Took me a solid 10 minutes of staring at the map like a confused tourist. Messed up the first transfer, ended up going the wrong way. Typical. But finally got the hang of it. Felt good sweating it out walking between stops instead of sitting in traffic pumping fumes. Plus, way cheaper.
Did the math later on carbon output – felt pretty smug seeing how much less I churned out compared to my usual Uber spree.
The Hotel Energy Trap
Checked into the hotel. Room looked clean, smelled clean… but felt kinda wasteful. You know the drill: lights blazing, AC cranked down to arctic levels. First thing? Unplugged that stupid mini-fridge humming away (who actually uses it?). Turned off the AC, cracked the window instead. Felt some actual fresh air for once! Made a conscious effort to switch off every single light when leaving, even the bathroom ones. Housekeeping probably thought I was paranoid.
Shopping and the Souvenir Snafu
Souvenir time. Almost bought a cheap plastic thingamajig stamped “NYC”. Stopped. Looked harder. Found a small street market selling cool hand-made stuff. Picked up a little wooden carving from a local artist. Felt better knowing my cash wasn’t just going to some huge factory far away.
Also remembered to bring a tote bag stuffed in my backpack. Used it for grabbing groceries, carrying stuff… everything. Saved me collecting half a dozen plastic bags over the weekend. Felt dumb walking around with it at first, but hey, worked.
The Carbon Offset Cop-Out?
Before flying back, I looked at carbon offsets. Felt a bit weird, honestly. Like, am I just paying to feel better? Prices varied wildly. Found a certified one funding wind farms. Clicked the button, put in my flight details, paid the few extra bucks. Still not 100% sure it actually helps, but figured throwing some money towards renewables couldn’t hurt while I figure out how to actually fly less.
Overall? It wasn’t flawless. Still flew, after all. But swapping little things – the bottle, the food wrap, skipping cabs, unplugging crap, picking local stuff – actually felt doable. Seeing those energy savings on the app? That was motivating. Not some big dramatic change, just chipping away at it, trying to be less of a problem. And that, I reckon, anyone can actually do.
