It’s important to ensure your travels are as earth friendly as possible. One of the reasons you love camping is to experience the great outdoors in all its beauty. It is up to all of us to make sure that what we love about nature is still as beautiful for future generations to enjoy. One of the best way we can achieve this is to reduce the amount of waste we create while camping. If we do produce waste we need to make sure it is correctly disposed of and not left to blow away. Our simple tips for change make this process easy for everyone.
Choose Earth Friendly Solid Toiletries.
Instead of packing bottles of different body washes and hair products we encourage you to purchase a solid shampoo body wash bar. This not only saves space in your toiletries bag it eliminates the need to dispose of several plastic bottles. One soap bar can be a hand wash, shampoo, and body wash in one and most come packaged in cardboard.
Be Smart With Your Water Usage.
One of the biggest known contributors to plastic waste is disposable water bottles. A far more earth friendly choice is to take a reusable water bottles and refill this each day. If you know the camp site does not have water available, such as free camping, purchase a large insulated water cooler to take with you loaded with water and ice.
“If People Sat Outdoors and Looked at the Stars Each Night, I’ll bet They’d Live a lot Differently” – Bill Waterson
Meal Plan and Prepare.
Instead of taking or buying all the ingredients you need to create a meal every night prepare your meals before you leave home. This will reduce the amount of time you spend in the kitchen as you only have to reheat meals. It will also mean you are not buying more than you need and throwing the excess away.
Switch from Disposable.
Sometimes it is simpler to use disposable plates and cutlery at meal times but this creates so much waste. A simple solution is to choose reusable. Picking up cheap second hand cutlery and crockery from op shops is a great way to create a camping kit.
Switch to Earth Friendly Renewable Energy.
Unplug yourself from mains power and hook up to solar panels. Solar panels harness the sun’s renewable energy, giving you an earth friendly camping trip for as long as you want. Your van’s solar system will generate silent, sustainable power for all of your lighting, charging – and even showering – needs! Just remember to park in the sunshine, as the shade can significantly reduce its effectiveness. Somewhere like Off The Grid offer a huge range to suit all van styles and needs.
Making these simple changes will ensure your holidays take only memories and leave only small footprints. Enjoy your travels with an earth friendly heart and the beauty you see today will be there for future generations.