Traveling waste
As I work in waste and recycling I’m always thinking about it – even when on holiday! I find it really interesting how different countries deal with their waste and what they offer their residents and visitors.
We have just returned from a family holiday to Bali and as part of a developing country their recycling is very basic. We stayed in a villa for part of our stay and they offered paper/card & plastic recycling, organic waste and then everything else went in the rubbish (glass and cans included which pained me!). The tap water isn’t drinkable either, meaning you had to buy it in most places too. The hotel we stayed in gave us 4 small (250ml) glass bottles each day – which they refilled, and another had plenty of filtered water fountains so we could refill our reusable bottles.
Waste is sent to landfill in Bali, however the local government is currently suffering from a waste mis-management crisis. Their landfills are overflowing and locals have resorted to burning their rubbish in the open, we could often smell the acrid scent of burning waste in the early evenings. Single use plastic was banned in 2018 however everywhere we went single use bags were offered to us (which we refused as we had our own reusable bag).
As a small island, with the main income being tourism, you can understand how the big investment of recycling plants, or an EfW would potentially be beyond reach. However it would improve not only the aesthetics of the island, but also the health of the local people, and the surrounding oceans and wildlife.
I used to work in the French Alpes and at the time they offered extensive recycling but not food waste (however that was way back in the mid 2000’s). We took a family trip skiing last year, and I was pleased to see communal composting available next to the bins on the streets of Alp D’Huez.
The best advice I can offer is to keep our refill mindset as you travel. Carry your water bottle, bag, straws etc when you go to help reduce the need for single use plastic, and don’t be tempted to buy mini products, just use what you already have.
And finally remember to check the local advice especially when holiday-ing in the UK as recycling bins/boxes may differ from where you live. Recyclenow.co.uk