Five simple ways to reduce single use plastics consumption while traveling in Colombia

In today's world, many of us are reliant on single use plastics for day to day commodities. It's no secret that these plastics are polluting our natural world, and it becomes all the more obvious when you think you're in the middle of pristine rainforest, and a plastic bottle floats on by down the river. While ultimately it's up to big companies to change their packaging to better limit environmental pollution, individual choices do make an impact. While travelling in Colombia, you will encounter single use plastics at every turn. Here are some tips to limit the amount of plastics you use while here:

• Always bring your own bag when you go shopping.

  • The norm in the supermercados here is to put all groceries into a big black plastic bag. Oftentimes, items will be put into smaller bags and then all the smaller bags are put into another bigger bag. To avoid this, simply hand them your bag to pack or tell them you don't need a bag and pack up your things yourself. 

• Bring a reusable water bottle.

  • At Spanish Adventure we have a water filtering system that provides clean and safe drinking water to the school. The easiest way to avoid using single use plastics bottles is to refill your reusable one with this water.

• Drink out of glasses at restaurants

  • Waiters will always offer you a plastic straw at restaurants. Only in Medellín or Bogotá will you find paper straws, and even then they are rare. Feel free to just leave the straw at the table or tell the waiter you don't need one.

• Bring a water filter

  • If you can afford it, having a water filter like a LifeStraw or a Sawyer filter affords you the ability to always have drinkable water without using plastic bottles. LifeStraw sells bottles with built-in filters.

• For snacks, eat fresh fruit instead of branded snacks in plastic bags.

  •  Colombia is a wonderland for fresh produce. There are so many types of delicious fruits that grow in Colombia, all with unique flavors. Buying and eating fruit is much cheaper than buying snacks, and it leaves no plastic waste!

With how the food economy works here and in the rest of the world it's virtually impossible to avoid plastic waste. However there are always choices we can make to reduce the amount of single use plastics we consume. Let's all do more to protect the natural beauty of Colombia while we're here!