Tourism and travel are often synonymous with pollution. Jets infamously produce a large carbon footprint through emissions. Then, as people make their way through airports and stay in hotels, they leave a trail of plastic waste–think disposable forks, little shampoo bottles, and bags. Sustainable tourism is fundamental to preserving destinations, but some travelers may associate this idea with austerity. When we go on vacation, we all want to experience luxury. This article will look at three destination cities that have it all–they produce low amounts of plastic waste, have high levels of recycling, and visitors can still have a fun vacation.
Bogota, Colombia
In honor of World Recycling Day, Saavo investigated which world cities produced the least waste. To do this, they considered the amount of plastic and food thrown out, how much plastic is reused or recycled, and the number of zero-waste grocery stores. The organization named Bogota, Colombia the world capital of zero waste. Saavo reports that people in Bogota produced 2,413,455 tons of plastic waste per year. Compare that to Berlin, German where citizens threw out a staggering 14,476,561 tons. Berlin has only about half the population of Bogota but throws out seven times more plastic.
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok came in second place. This may surprise some readers since Thailand is infamous for the amount of plastic along its coastline and on its beaches. There is some good news: authorities have been working to improve this situation. Secondly, a lot of the garbage that ends up in the ocean there is due to mismanagement of waste rather than Thais throwing out a large amount. Fascinatingly, per capita, the citizens of Bangkok produce less waste than those of Bogota. Bangkok’s 11 million inhabitants produce around three and a half million tons annually.