Mallika Arya turns zero-waste traveller

Mallika Arya has the year off to become a zerowaste traveller inset with her entire landfill of waste from two weeks travelWhen Mallika Arya was a Teach for India fellow a few months ago conducting sessions on how to be ecofriendly she realised that she was practising a fraction of what she was teaching For the first time it hit her that she needed to make some tough choices to actually live the lessons she was imparting in her classes Once done with her fellowship the 23year old decided to take the year off to travel and see if she could become a zerowaste traveller Turns out she didOver the two months that she went on to spend in Himachal and South India Mallika set some strict rules for herself that didnt leave any room for comfort ldquoIts not like I killed myselfrdquo she says ldquoOn the contrary I lived better because I lived healthy But zerowaste travelling is not about me its about othersrdquo adds Mallika who recently got chosen by renowned environmentalist Robert Swan for his Antartica expedition next yearZerowaste Mallika says is about showing zeromercy mdash towards yourself that is The green crusader shares a sixpronged approach on how its doneThink minimalThis is imperative to a zerowaste lifestyle Do I need everything that I buy People dont want to stop at anything while they are on a holiday They want to eat everything they want the maximum comfort they can afford But pause and think what impact your visit is going leave on the place Just because you didnt litter on the roads that doesnt mean you have not harmed the environment Look at the amount of plastic you consumed Keep the long term picture in mindDont buy waterNobody cares to carry water while travelling as one can so easily purchase it But how difficult is it really I always carry two litres of water with me Yes there have been times when that got over But you can always refill at a restaurant or worst case scenario knock on someones door and ask them for some water Point is there is always an option Had there been no bottled water available you would have done it You need to push yourself and think in extremesSample local fare not packaged goodiesWhile we do that for large meals during snacktime we still reach out for a packet of chips Make it a point to eat as much local food as you can That also helps encourage local produce and reduces your carbon footprint Buy fruits Why opt for a packet of biscuits when you easily get those locally baked cookies kept in glass jars at every roadside tea stall Problem is our mind is conditioned to associate packaging with hygieneUse public transportI only travel in buses when there are no buses I go for shared vehicles If walking is an option I do that If you get caught in the rush of convenience it wont work If you set a target for yourself it certainly willNonAC livingMost people would sneer at this but this is one of the most effective zerowaste practices I always ask for a nonAC option wherever I am staying We were not born in an airconditioned world It is something that has only crept into our lives over the last decade or so It is really not impossible to go back to old ways if we try hard enoughMinimise sanitary wasteThis ones of course for women only Sanitary waste is made of enormous amounts of plastic and one way to do away with it is to opt for menstrual cups They are recyclable clean convenient hygienic and easily available online