Chapter 11 - Trying to reduce plastic

One thing we planned on before our trip was to attempt to reduce the number of plastic bottles we would consume while away. There are many countries in the world where tape water, although consumed by some locals, can cause stomach upsets and worse infections. There is therefore a huge international market for bottled water, especially within tropical countries where tourists don’t think they can trust the tape water not to make them sick. There are many reasons why people can get sick on the road, but water born diseases are some of the worst and no one wants an infection or disease caused by dirty water. So how do we solve the issue that drinking water can create a mountains of plastic bottle waste?
Health authorities tend to recommend that we drink up to 2 liters a day of water to keep healthy and hydrated, this obviously changes depending on heat, exercise and activities etc. So that would mean 4 liters a day between two people on average, which would mean the use of one and half large plastic bottles or as many as 6 plastic bottles a day for the small half liter bottles commonly found in cafes, shops etc. Therefore, taking an average use of 3 bottles a day that would mean 21 a week and roughly 84 a month. The truth is its likely to be a lot more as its not always possible to buy large bottles. 21 bottles might not seem a lot but if you don’t through your rubbish outside into a trash can every day and horde it you soon see how much waste one couple can create in a short period of time.
One of the biggest issues with travelling whilst in developing nations is that of rubbish collection. Many countries do not have the infrastructure built up that the west has, to deal with rubbish streams. Many countries burn their rubbish in open pits, not even in an incinerator. Some types of plastic can omit dioxins whilst burnt, a known carcinogen and generally nasty. Some plastics are relatively safe to burn, although they create pretty nasty smells and smoke, but different plastic react differently to open fires. To conclude then, it’s generally not advised to deal with rubbish by burning them in an open fire.
So, what is the solution for travelers abroad who care about the environment and plastic waste? Well I investigated filtration bottles that can remove harmful bacteria from water to make tape water safe to drink. If you have access to a kitchen its probably easier to boil a whole pan of water and store it in the fridge then to filter all your water. However, that’s not always possible. We were kindly given two water bottles by my work colleagues as a present, the Lifesaver 4000UF bottle and the Grayl Ultralight Compact Purifier water bottle. Both are expensive and have their positives and negatives. The Grayl bottle is a nice size and quite stylish looking. Its well made and seems solid and made from plastic. The Lifesaver bottle, although it has a much larger shelf life for the filter at 4000 liters and holds a lot more water in comparison feels a little badly made and cheaper feeling. The two bottles take a different approach to filtering/filling.
The Grayl bottle has two main compartments, one that holds the

filter, you fill the main casing up to the line and then push the inner casing in so that all the water is pushed through the filter. This can be quite challenging, and you need to put your body wait into it, so for some people that are less able or older this could be a challenge. The Life bottle on the other hand uses a pump mechanism that keeps the water under pressure inside the bottle. You simply take the bottom lid off, fill, screw the lid back in and then pump a few times. The Grayl bottle is a little easier to drink from though as the Life bottle can be a little fiddly, it’s quite easy to over pump and get a soaking! But once you are used to it its pretty easy to use.
The Life bottle has a secondary filter at the base of the bottle which helps to stop large clumps of dirt or particles from entering the main filter. To be honest though I would feel slightly uncomfortable filling up either bottle from a murky pond or puddle, but apparently both bottles will make such water palatable. I have tried lake and river water and didn’t seem to get sick from it! But that’s one of the hardest things to get used to, you have to trust that they do filter out any bugs that could harm you. Its not unusual to get an upset stomach on the road, many kitchen and street food vendors do not have the best hygiene at times, plus being on the road a lot and eating at strange times can make people feel slightly sick or give them an upset stomach. But, when you are drinking not bottled water filtered either from a river or a tape and get an upset stomach, that can make you feel paranoid that you are getting sick. So at times I have gone back to using bottle water for a few days to see if it was food or water related issue. So far so good, I haven’t been seriously sick as yet and nothing major to worry about. But it is a change that you have to get used to. You slowly get more faith in the bottles as you use them, but it can be alarming.
I have consistently drunk from one of the water bottles almost every day, except for times when I felt sick or when we couldn’t get to a tape. We have therefore managed to reduce our water bottle consumption down considerably. However, there are times when its just not practical. Both bottles can be a little cumbersome, the Life bottle is quite large and although it comes with a shoulder strap carrying one around town takes up quite a bit of space in your bag, the smaller Grayl is therefore handy for day trips and general travelling, but it doesn’t hold that much water (473 ml) so you soon run out. The Grayl bottle is great though as a city traveler bottle, I think the Life bottle is better suited to long stints in deep jungle or bush. The fact that you can change the spout to turn the bottle into a pump to pump clean water in a blister pack is very handy, although I haven’t used that yet.
One thing both bottles need, is to be kept clean. You have to regularly empty and dry the bottles otherwise the water in the bottle will eventually go bad and ruin the filter- and potentially causing you to get sick. That can be a tricky habit to get into on the road, especially if you are travelling a lot between different cities and may only get one nights rest before setting off again. But both bottles are very easy to take apart and leaving them to dry over night is fine. My last main criticism of the Life bottle is that it is quite hard to fit into most rucksacks, it wont fit into the side water bottle holder on most bags and its probably too large to fit in your bag if you have stuffed the bags full on a long trip. You therefore end up hand carrying the bottle a lot whilst carrying your rucksack.
In conclusion then, it is possible to greatly reduce the amount of plastic consumed whilst travelling, but it does have its issues. There are times when you will end up with plastic bottles as you don’t have access to a source of water. However, reducing waste can only be a good thing. I would personally recommend the Grayl bottle for most backpackers going from tourist hot spot to the next, the Life bottle may be just too big to carry most of the time.