Reduce our Waste Business Travel

Hello dear reader!  It has been a while since I have written, however, I have still been busy looking at ways that I can reduce my waste, even during a recent business trip.  I had the very good fortune to travel on business to the beautiful town of Vevey, Switzerland on Lake Geneva:

But even a picturesque town like Vevey has issues with garbage:

What do you think happens when the wind picks up?  This garbage, which is mostly lightweight plastic, ends up in the lake.  This is another motivation for continuing to reduce my waste.  I hope it inspires you to continue our your journey as well.

While business travel is not in any way zero waste, I certainly did what I could to minimize my impact:

Use my Reusable Water Bottle

I always travel with my reusable water bottle and I was pleased to see at Dorval Airport an automatic water refilling station:

This was a line that I was actually happy to wait in because it meant that there were others refusing to take single use plastic water bottles.  At the Vevey office that I visited, they also had refillable water stations, which allowed me to avoid plastic water bottles.

Take Public Transit

Even though I had to take a non-zero waste air flight to Switzerland, while in Switzerland, I used the train and bus for local transportation:

Such a relaxing way to travel!  Perhaps the view of Lake Geneva was largely responsible for the feeling of calm that I experienced while taking the train.  My work colleagues from the Vevey office advised me that they also routinely use the train.  Parking at our corporate office is both limited and costly and this encourages staff to take the train.  Plus the walk from the train station (only 15-20 minutes) offers the benefit of daily exercise.

Reusable Straws

Although I was hard at work during the day, our Vevey team organized a cocktail for us to get to know each other and bond.  Never one to refuse a cocktail, I gladly accepted the invitation.  When I mentioned to the server at the restaurant that I did not want a disposable straw, he mentioned that he had reusable aluminum straws to offer:

and our entire team  jumped at the chance to use one.  Our waiter explained that people often kept the straws so he usually only offered plastic straws.  Plastic straw bans are increasing everywhere, however, I continue to see straws available for cocktails.  We need to use our voices and remind bars and restaurants that plastic straws are a no go.  My brother would tell me that I shouldn’t even go to bars and restaurants…but this is not always practical in real life.

Zero Waste Creative Moms

In discussing my Reduce our Waste project with the Vevey team, one of my colleagues showed me a purse that her mother had made for her from soda can pull tabs:

What a marvelous and elegant reuse of single use disposable items!  My colleague Tatiana told me that her whole family had to collect the tabs for their mother and it took quite some time.  I think it’s great when people use their creativity for reuse.  Thanks for sharing Tatiana!

Reduce our Waste Travel Toiletries

I am trying to avoid using the single use items provided by hotels (shampoo, lotion, etc) and I brought these items in my toiletries kit:

Overall, it is a pretty simple yet complete travel kit.  I brought my homemade toothpaste, compostable dental floss, crystal stone deodorant and Cetaphil face wash and moisturizers.  My shampoo from the bulk store was in a reusable container as well (not shown).  I have not yet explored making my own moisturizer but it is something that I have yet to explore.  For now, I like Cetaphil products.  They are designed for sensitive skin and are typically easy to buy in large quantities.   I then transferred the quantities that I needed to the smaller containers I had.

So much for my Reduce my Waste business trip.  Au revoir Vevey!  Hopefully I will come back one day….

Does stand-up paddleboard count as zero waste travel?

 

I think so.

Challenge for the Week:  If you are not already doing so, implement one zero waste idea to your own business or personal travel.  Every little bit counts!  And you have other ideas to share, please let me know.