As eco-conscious travellers, we’re told to take just photographs and to leave only our footprints behind. The last thing we want to do is spoil the destination we’ve just travelled to for future generations.
But as tourist numbers swell around the world, tourism is literally leaving behind a trail of rubbish that threatens to destroy the very appeal of these destinations as well as the local environment, and it’s forcing many in the travel industry to stop and think about the damage being done.
Take Thilafushi island in the Maldives, for example, which is around 6 kilometres west of Malé.
Recently known as Rubbish Island, up to 330 tons of rubbish was dumped and burned here every day – sending soot and carbon dioxide billowing into the air, and causing massive environmental damage to the lagoon’s eco-system – as the local government struggled to cope with the ever-increasing influx of travellers who each leave behind around 3.5kg of waste per day.
Thankfully, that practice has now stopped, and the waste is now being ferried over to India for disposal (hopefully in an environmentally responsible way). But whether or not the island’s eco-system can recover from the damage is another question all together…
And from lagoons in the Indian Ocean to the highest mountain in the world, it doesn’t seem to get much better.
The surge in alpine tourism on Mount Everest and the debris left in its wake has prompted many to now call the area the “World’s highest garbage dump.”
The situation has gotten so bad over the years that finally the Nepali authorities have decided to enforce new clean up rules, requiring each climber to bring back their own rubbish.
But again, just how effective this new rule will be is yet to be determined.
Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, it’s not just happening overseas either.
Down in Tasmania, local residents are sick and tired of tourists leaving rubbish and human excrement on beautiful Bruny Island as there simply aren’t enough rubbish bins or toilets to keep up with tourist numbers.
“We need large rubbish skips and we also need more toilets.”
Rosemary Sandford, Bruny Island resident.
Tourism and the trash that it leaves behind is certainly a world-wide problem, and local governments and authorities definitely need to clean up their act.
But that’s not to say that we – as travellers – cannot do our part too.
That’s the message that an exciting new clean-up initiative called 10 pieces is hoping to spread.
10 pieces, in partnership with World Expeditions, is an environmental sustainable tourism initiative that hopes to stem the destructive tide of rubbish from tourism destroying popular tourist hotspots around the world with a simple formula: wherever you’re travelling in the world, pick up 10 pieces of rubbish while you’re there.
The initiative, founded by avid traveller herself Lisa Vitaris, believes that collectively we can make a difference
10 Pieces is a really simple concept – we ask travellers to pick up 10 pieces of litter per day on their trips. Whilst we say 10 Pieces, 10 is really a nominal number and travellers can choose to pick up as little or as much litter as they wish. It’s effectively taking out more litter than what you take in and therefore leaving the environment in a better state.
Lisa Vitaris, 10 Pieces.
Finally, tackling the problem from the other end, a new, fully edible beer can packaging has been developed by Florida based brewery Saltwater Brewery.
Made from byproducts of the brewing process such as wheat and barley, their six-pack holders are fully biodegradable and completely digestible, meaning that if they end up in the sea they will be eaten or simply decompose.
Nice!
Check out the video below:
*Did you know that Travel Agents have the power to change the world?
**Also check out how you can learn to spot a true eco-tourism supplier.