Single use Plastic

What exactly is single-use plastic, and what makes it so incredibly harmful? Think about all the random items you use only once then throw away: water bottles, plastic forks, straws, plastic bags, food containers and packaging. This is single-plastic, and enough of it has been discarded into our oceans by now, that if we put all those pieces in a single file line, we would be able to wrap it around the Equator over 300 times. Environmentally conscious or not, this type of information should be enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.

The important thing is: plastic doesn’t immediately biodegrade (water bottles can take 450 years to break down into harmful microplastic particles, which are an even more dangerous form), it ends up accumulating in cities, seas and oceans, water supplies, fields, and forests, slowly releasing chemicals and harming nature and animals.

Attempting to live a plastic-free life maybe sounds hard in this day and age, but in fact, there are plenty of practical and cost-effective solutions to help you live that plastic-free life. Here are some that we suggest.

1. Bottled Water

We all need water to survive, that is true. But bottled water doesn’t just pollute the planet, leaving behind immense carbon footprints, but it’s also not the most cost efficient, nor comfortable way of water consumption. While labels might promise pristine spring waters in every bottle, an estimated 70 percent of bottled water actually comes from the same source as tap, sometimes additionally purified or worse, treated with chemicals - and sold back to us for a price 2,000 times higher.

The solution? Drink your still, sparkling or tap water from alternative bottles, such as stainless steel or glass, which you are able to use sustainably and even recycle, all while still allowed to drink when on the go. That is why we will offer an opportunity for our guests to purchase steel or aluminum reusable bottles, which they can refill for free any time. We also refuse to continue the vicious circle of pollution, and we will not be selling any type of drink, that is contained or packaged in a plastic bottle. In you take the bottle back home with you, you continue to make a difference beyond our cruises, which is all we can hope for.

2. Plastic Drinking Straws

There are over 1.5 billion straws used by the humans of this world every single day! The single use straw may just be the worst form of single use plastic in the world, overwhelming our seas, beaches and marine life, finding its way to even the most remote parts of our planet, via winds, currents and human behavior.

An obvious solution would be to stop using straws after all, but it doesn’t have to as extreme as all that. Alternatives like metal straws, paper straws and straws made out of natural materials (bamboo, wheat, rice, pasta) offer the same type of sensation, while having zero negative impact on our environment. Our guests will be served cocktails, soft and every other types of drinks with recyclable bamboo, wheat or paper straws, and also be given an opportunity to purchase a set of reusable and cleanable metal straws, which they can take with them and keep up the good fight.

3. Plastic Food Containers and cutlery

Laziness and convenience make the world go around these days. Not having to wash the dishes maybe floats your boat, but on a large scale, these containers end up in the sea as millions of tons of plastic pollution.

On our boats, all the food will pe prepared and served in sustainable cookware and dishes, for your luxurious and ecological dining experience.

4. Food packaging

Prepackaged food is cheap and widely available, but is unnecessary. Fruits and vegetables naturally come in their own form of packaging, which is compostable and efficient. We see no need to alter this. Meats and other perishables do need to be stored appropriately, and this is exactly what we will do, but getting most of this food from small, local based businesses goes a long way, as they often use more natural ways of packaging. This is exactly what we will be doing, preserving the environment, as well as local and family businesses.

5. Plastic Bags

Alongside plastic bottles, these might be the single biggest pollutants of our planet. Mass produced, indestructible, widely used and hard to contain. They are often mistaken for food by wildlife, and cause deaths of millions of birds, land animals and aquatic creatures.

Combating these bags can be as easy as bringing your own bag when going to the store, plastic, fabric or any other kind of reusable. We at Lastavica/Swallow cruising will do our best to reduce or completely omit usage of plastic bags on our boat, while shopping, preserving food or any other way we can think of.