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The holiday season is here, and many of us will find ourselves at the airport, hardly a magical place. The airport is an institutionalized den of bustle. You'll find sleeping travelers flopped madly on benches, irate journeyers shouting at clerks with tickets raised above their heads and everybody else in line to buy coffee, and you're probably at the end of that line. You might spend a lot of time laid-over at the airport, and it's not an eco-friendly place to be. You'll have to keep your senses sharp in order to maintain greenness.
How to Eat
Last time I was in an airport. There was a two hour layover in Phoenix, a fine American city. It was getting around noon and food was becoming a concern. Throngs of people were lined up at the fast food joint. Tray after tray of discarded fast food wrappers were going into the garbage cans. I thought that I'd do the world a service at spend the extra dough to eat at one of the sit-down restaurants. This would, by my reckoning, eliminate waste.
So I went, and I ordered. The waitress brought me my sandwich on a plastic plate. Underneath my plastic plate was a piece red-and-white checked paper. And underneath that was an actual plate. She also gave me a small disposable bowl for salad dressing. I tugged on my collar and groaned.
Not all sit-down airport restaurants are going to serve you food like this. But before you decide to sit down to a meal to save on waste, look at how they serve their meals. Learn from my mistake.
Airports often have little delis that are simply a check-out counter and a cooler for drinks and sandwiches. Those sandwiches are usually only packaged in one piece of cellophane. That might be the lowest-waste meal you can find at an airport.
What to Buy
You might find yourself stuck in an airport for several hours. My personal best is 23 hours in the Warsaw, Poland, airport. While you are waiting for a connecting flight, you may want to brush your teeth or comb your hair. You might find yourself forced to buy toothpaste because you didn't know if you could get it on the plane. According to the Transportation Security Administration, you are only allowed three ounces of toothpaste. That's a travel size. They won't let you roll up an old tube. Travel size isn't very eco-friendly. My advice would be to go commando on your teeth. Toothpaste may make your mouth feel better but brushing alone is almost as good. The only difference is that you don't get the benefits of fluoride. Your teeth still get de-plaqued and food particles are expunged. Stay away from travel sizes in general. The airport will be full of them.
If you buy a magazine, don't throw it away when you are done. Give it to another world-weary traveler or simply leave it on a seat. Someone will pick it up and read it.
Don't go wasting money buying junk in the duty-free store. Entertain yourself with a book or a laptop if you own such things. If you don't own such things, conversation with a fellow traveler is an eco-friendly way to pass the time.
More of Travel:
Plan a Greener, Cheaper Trip Home During the Busiest Travel Time of the Year
Plan a Long Distance Cycling Trip and How
5 Reasons You Should Travel by Train
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