The monkeys at Angkor Wat, Cambodia.
Asia has a serious plastic problem where it almost seems like the more single use plastic you can plough onto an item the better. As a result I often saw bottled water purchased then placed into a plastic bag with a plastic straw. Juices are served in plastic cups with plastic lids, plastic straws and a plastic bag handle that I have seen no where else in the world or else just put straight into a plastic bag and served like that. Street food is packaged in a plastic bag or polystyrene container with plastic wrapped chopsticks, a smaller bag with chilli sauce and then put into another bag. All of this absolutely blows my mind. I can't, for the life of me, understand it.
In most parts of the world you are praised for attempts at reducing your waste by shop attendants. In Asia they are mostly confused by your requests and will insist on plastic bags and all sorts of single use plastic waste. I once requested 3 times not to have a bag as she suggested 3 times that my glass bottle would be better in a bag. Sometimes I would end up with 2 straws because they understood the word straw when I asked for none.
On top of this serious and alarming over consumption of resources, very few places in Asia seemed to have any waste management systems in place. Yes there were bins (in some places) but they were always piled high and overflowing and the cages where the rubbish was supposed to be kept until pick up resembled landfill sites themselves. In Australia we're taught not to litter and I think we're pretty good at it (when compared to other cultures we are anyway) but I no longer believe that's good enough. While I saw many tourists balance their waste on the top of the mountain in an attempt to do the right thing, the obvious solution to me is to PRODUCE LESS waste. After all when we throw something away, there is actually no "away". Your waste still has to exist on this planet somewhere. The oceans in Asia are in a serious state and it is evident everywhere we have been. There was no mistaking the effect humans were having on the environment in Asia.
My own wooden cutlery luckily packed despite going for lunch in a beach side restaurant.
I don't begrudge people the chance to enjoy a delicious smoothie and noodles every day but there are many ways to do it less wastefully. Below I have compiled a list for beginners through to plastic waste experts for ways to travel (anywhere) less wastefully.
Reducing waste for beginners: It would be very easy to halve the amount of plastic you use in Asia without changing many habits at all. - Smoothies, juices and coffee; ask for without lid, straw, handle and bag. You've now halved your plastic on one drink. - Re-use your plastic cups; again without changing your night out in the slightest, you can take your cup and straw back to the bar time and time again and ask for your whisky and coke in the same cup. This also applies for when on the plane. Although the better option would be to avoid altogether, giving your cup a 2nd (3rd, 4th, 5th...) life reduces your usage considerably. -If you must buy water, buy a large bottle. Ideally take a 10L bottle back to your lodgings and use that instead of 20 small 500ml bottles.
Intermediate waste reducers: - You buy your purchase and before you know it, it's in a plastic bag you don't need. Take it out and hand it back. Most of the time they will reuse it for you. - Your hotel room may have 3 bins. Collect your waste in only one of them so they don't need to replace the bin liner on all 3. - Don't touch any shampoo, conditioner or soaps that are in the cute, tiny bottles. The amount I have picked up from the beaches is incredible. Also avoid using the glass cups that are neatly packaged in plastic bags in your hotel room (I'm confused by this too).
- If you receive any brochures, business cards (taxi drivers) or promotional material, take a photo of it and hand it back. No one is offended and that can be reused on someone else.
Expert level: - Come armed with a container, a drink bottle and a set of cutlery. Although there were times when we stumbled due to the language barrier and were served our food in plastic, these 3 items are your basic essentials. All street food, drinks and juices were mostly purchased waste free. - When your food is served in a sit down environment and it arrives with plastic wrapped cutlery, plastic wrapped sauces and single serve plastic jams and butter for example, take them off your plate and hand then back before taking the plate. This ensures they are returned to the kitchen and will be reused rather than scraped into the bin along with any food waste. - Always be opportune when it comes to drinking water. Water dispensers are very common in Asia and I only bought one bottle the day Will lost his drink bottle and I dropped and cracked mine (it was a sad day!) Wherever we were, if I saw a dispenser I would ask if I could refill my bottle or top it up. I was only denied once despite offering to pay her (maybe she didn't understand) but most people were very happy to let me and refused payment. I was known to go into hotel lobbies to refill my bottle if I saw one despite not actually staying there. Dive shops were always obliging so that's a great place to look as well. - Often cutlery will come wrapped in a napkin when you eat out, take that napkin and put it in your bag as a toilet paper stash. God knows you'll need it by the next day at least!
Remember, the idea is to PRODUCE LESS WASTE, in any area possible by rethinking and reusing what you have in order to avoid this mess found on Long beach, Koh Chang, Thailand.
