Eco-Friendly Tips for the Beach

Eco-Friendly Tips for the Beach

Five simple tips to help keep our beaches clean

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When choosing a destination for a vacation one of the most popular reasons for going will be a place with stunning views and landscapes. In order for these destinations to be desirable they are well maintained by someone who is being paid to do so, and some beaches cannot keep up with the trash pollution (hello tides bringing things in and out).

Beaches are easy places for people to leave behind garbage because the assumption is that ‘I won’t be coming back here so not my problem anymore’, or a personal “favorite” of mine is the assumption that someone will clean up after you. It’s confusing to think about how and when that mindset settled in, but the reality is no one is coming in after you to clean up your mess on a beach. Beach clean ups are great, but they are a band-aid over a bigger problem, not a solution. So, I’ve put together a simple list of things YOU can do to prevent waste and be eco-friendly on your next beach visit.

Five Friendly Tips to help keep our beaches clean

1. CARRY A (REUSABLE) WATER BOTTLE

Instead of purchasing another plastic water bottle, reuse one you already have or carry a sturdy reusable bottle with you. It’ll be a great reminder to fill it up and stay hydrated, and it saves plastic from being left behind.

Here is a resusable water bottle that I really like

*My suggestion would be to not invest too heavily into a reusable bottle that you will travel with. I once had an empty water bottle tossed via a secondary, full plane, re-check of our carry on luggage with the reason being I couldn’t have any bottles of any kind…

2. BRING A REUSABLE CLOTH SHOULDER BAG OR GROCERY BAG

Plagues are to human destruction, as Plastic is to the ocean… alright, my attempt at an analogy may not be great, but the point I’m trying to make is that plastic is the devil- especially to our oceans. Avoid plastic like a plague and always bring a reusable bag with you. Some clothing stores use cloth bags, such as Free People and Verge Girl, that you can reuse or use a reusable grocery bag. They are lightweight and very useful.

These cloth bags are a great size for a long day spent at the beach

3. WEAR REEF-SAFE & CRUELTY FREE SUNSCREEN

Coral reefs maintain and protect vast parts of our oceans. They can be bleached and die from oxybenzone and octinoxate, which are main ingredients in many mainstream sunscreens. They are toxic to our oceans. Protect marine life and coral reefs by wearing reef-safe and cruelty free sunscreens.

I am currently working on reviewing various sunscreens that fit into this category to share which ones are best for protection, quality and for your dollar. In the meantime, here are brands that I have heard of:

Sun Bum; I use their 30 spf
Hang Ten
Jason Mineral
Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen
Australian Gold Botanical Sunscreen
Bare Republic

*search for mineral and zinc oxide based sunscreens

4. BRING YOUR OWN FOOD

Packing your own food will allow you to use reusable Tupperware and avoid horrific items like foam packaging and plastic straws. While at home I use the Pyrex brand, but for travelling these silicone bags are great (plus they have cute little pandas on them too)

If you bring items that are individually wrapped, such as protein bars, be sure to…

5. TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU

Some beaches will have garbage bins on the beach, which is wonderful! However, beaches are windy places. When the wind starts it’ll pick up whatever lightweight items are in a garbage bin and float them away. Use that reusable bag you’re going to bring with you and store your trash in there to toss out at home or at your lodging.