Like us, you’re probably already thinking about how to take your next trip without bringing along any plastic. There is single-use plastic wherever you travel, from plastic cutlery on airlines to small toiletries in hotels to endless plastic water bottles. However, that’s not how things have to be.

In honor of Plastic Free July, we’ll discuss ways to reduce your environmental impact while on the road. Here are six easy substitutions to reduce the amount of plastic you use throughout your trip, from bringing your own reusable water bottle to developing a greener toilet routine.

Why should we avoid using plastic?

Plastic is a problem for everyone in every way. In addition to polluting our land and oceans and causing the death of thousands of animals annually due to ingestion, this practice also emits toxic chemicals related to ailments such as cancer and infertility. In the United States alone, producing 102 billion plastic bags requires around 12 million barrels of oil, making it one of the most resource-intensive industries in the country.

Already, an excessive amount of plastic is used throughout the world. Around fifty percent of the world’s annual production of plastic—which amounts to more than 380 million metric tons—is wasted after being used just once. In the meantime, 91 percent of plastic is never recycled, even though it might exist for hundreds or thousands of years. This indicates that it makes its way into our waterways and natural habitats, with the vast majority of the pollution in the ocean coming from land sources.

More than eight million metric tons of plastic waste are dumped each year into the world’s oceans. Fish then swallow this plastic, resulting in one in every four fish being tested positive for the presence of plastic. This causes disease and illness in the bodies of humans who consume fish because it makes its way into their bodies. Even more alarming is the prediction that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

How can we do our part to win the war against plastics intended for single use? CodedHits has committed to eliminating as many unneeded single-use plastics from our operations and itineraries as possible by 2022 as part of our How We Tread Right Strategy, which spans five years. According to the very first Impact Report that was published this year, it is clear that we are making significant headway.

Are you curious about the measures you can take on your next trip to travel without using any plastic? Here are six simple pointers…

Reusable water bottles and cups.

Get a reusable water bottle to start traveling plastic-free. Instead of buying plastic water bottles, bring them and refill them at hotels, restaurants, cafes, or public water fountains.

You’ll also reduce plastic trash, which is essential since people consume 1.2 million plastic bottles per minute, and Americans buy 50 billion water bottles annually. Plastic bottles take hundreds to thousands of years to disintegrate and emit toxic chemicals into the environment. Most single-use plastic water bottles emit contaminants into your drinking water, making it healthier for you and the environment.

Going somewhere with unclean tap water? Instead, buy a straw filter or water bottle! Bring a reusable cup if you plan to drink much coffee while traveling. Globally, 500 billion plastic cups are used annually. Plastic lids and coatings. More coffee businesses are urging customers to bring their cups to reduce single-use trash and get a discount. Win-win!

Bring some cutlery and reusable straws.

Your preferred beverages are now in a reusable bottle or cup. What about your food, though? When we travel, we all like tucking into some delicious takeout or street cuisine, but we don’t enjoy the plastic garbage that goes along with it. You may avoid it altogether by bringing your own reusable cutlery, straws, and takeout containers. Cutlery and straws made of metal, bamboo, and silicone are just a few alternatives for your reusables. You’ll be helping to avert the plastic tsunami, considering that just Americans use half a billion drinking straws every day.

What about storage for food or reusable containers? Tupperware is a timeless option, or you may bring reusable food wraps like beeswax wraps. They function just as well as cling film, which British households use yearly for more than 1.2 billion meters. That is sufficient to complete 30 orbits of the Earth.

Bring your own reusable bags.

Do you want to know how to travel without using plastic when you like shopping? Instead of using flimsy plastic bags, carry your lightweight tote bags or backpacks to the store. If you’re flying with liquids, you can replace the plastic Ziploc bags with clear, reusable, and waterproof bags.

When you refuse single-use plastic bags, you help prevent them from ending up in the ocean and strangling or being eaten by wildlife. With five trillion plastic bags created each year globally and each bag taking over 1,000 years to decompose, this is a simple change – but it’s a lifesaver.

Change to eco-friendly supplies.

A plastic-free voyage would only be complete with solid toiletries. There are eco-friendly alternatives to nearly every hygiene product today! Not only do you not have to carry around a bunch of liquids (which always leak into your suitcase), but you can also find many solid products that perform as well as, or even better than, your original products – without the plastic waste. In fact, most shampoos and liquid soaps contain solid constituents diluted with water. Additionally, solid bars tend to be much more durable than liquid substances. Then why are you still waiting?

Here are a few of our favorite eco-friendly alternatives for toiletries (but this is just the top of the iceberg – there are so many more eco-friendly bathroom products to investigate):

• Solid shampoo and conditioner bars
• Solid soap or body wash
• Solid-body lotions
• Solid face cleansers
• Toothpaste tablets
• Bamboo toothbrush
• Plastic-free dental floss
• Solid deodorant bars
• Reusable shaving razors – known as safety razors
• Reusable, washable cotton pads – instead of face wipes and cotton swabs
• Reusable menstrual products – like menstrual cups

Travel-sized containers.

You like if you still want to use liquid shampoos and cleaners. You can buy reusable containers that are the right size for traveling and pour your goods into them. After your trip, wash the containers and use them again and again. So, you won’t have to buy travel-sized versions of your goods, which usually come in plastic containers that get thrown away anyway.

Ban all plastic from your room.

You’ve completed all the necessary changes, and your suitcase no longer contains plastic! The next challenge is how to avoid using plastic while staying in hotels. Many toiletries in hotel rooms are packaged in single-use plastic, such as miniature bottles of shampoo, body lotion, and plastic toothbrushes. To avoid this, email the hotel before you arrive, asking that no disposable plastic items be placed in your room. Most hotels will happily comply with your request. You may even find some eco-friendly establishments that have already phased out single-use plastics in favor of more sustainable alternatives like reusable dispenser bottles.

Do you know any helpful hints for traveling without using plastic? Leave your thoughts in the section below!