Outdoor adventures are not only filled with fun, but often also filled with food! However, eating outside generally produces more waste than you would like to admit. Think about all the wrappers, baggies, drink cans, and more that swaddle the food you bring into the wild. It’s a lot! To help you reduce waste, here are some tips for making your outdoor trips good for both your soul and the environment:
Metal Items:
-Always recycle! Recreating a new can out of recycled metal saves 95% of the energy it would take to make that can out of virgin ore.
-Other options: Bring a drink in a reusable container such as a Nalgene or a Hydroflask.
Paper Goods:
-Recycle if it untreated (i.e. not glossy or covered in colored ink or waxy) and not greasy. However, during outdoor adventures, we most often use paper goods for eating food so it would not be recyclable. However, if you are around a campfire, burn it! This keeps you from having to pack it out and send it to a landfill.
-Other options: Use reusable dishes. Metal dishes are ideal for the environment, but durable plastic dishes are a good option if you need to go light-weight. Good quality metal and plastic dishes can be found here.
Plastics:
Plastic wrappers:
-These cannot be recycled. Throw these away in a safe place were they will not get blown away or eaten by wildlife.
-Other options: Avoid packaged food. It is healthier for both you and the environment!
Ziplock Bags:
-Ziplock bags are usually not recyclable, although you can find a places in your local area that do recycle them here. However you must rinse and dry them first.
-Other options:
1) Reuse them: rinse and dry your baggies and reuse them until they fall apart.
2) Get a Ziploc bag alternative. Stasher bags are my favorite and can be found at many retailers such as Amazon and Target.
Plastic Bottle and Containers:
-These can usually be recycled. However, I encourage you to research how your local recycle service manages plastic recycling. If it is sent to China, it is better to throw plastics away. This minimizes the risk of getting microplastics in the ocean or other waterways which is where it causes the most damage.
-Other options:
1) Glass jars: Mason jars are easy to find at grocery stores. You can also reuse salsa jars, jam jars, glass bottles, or other glass containers.
2) Reusable plastic containers: I suggest using plastic containers only if you already own them. Buying new ones defeats the purpose of avoiding plastic in the first place.
3) Metal containers: These are good for more rugged trips. A wide variety of styles and shapes of metal containers can be found online from basically any retailer. I suggest getting the sizes you need from PackageFree because they are entirely metal and airtight (which is difficult to find elsewhere). Although they are a more expensive investment, they will last a lifetime.
Disclaimer: We are not sponsored to promote any of these items. They are merely items the author prefers.