If you are someone who goes on hiking trips a lot, you have probably noticed litter during your trip. One of the reasons for that is the lack of bins for the area in which you are hiking and it is understandable why you would not see any bins. Firstly, it would ruin the greenery in the area. Another reason is that it is difficult to get a vehicle up near that bin if the hiking route is on a hill or mountain.
If you are sick of seeing litter on your hiking trip, you probably want to reduce the waste you bring on your travels. Luckily for you, there are many eco-friendly items that you can own and great for your hiking trip. Let’s look at everything you can squeeze into that large backpack of yours.
Filtered Water Bottle
One of the first things you should look to do before your hiking trip is to reduce the amount of single-use plastic. It is where you stop using plastic water bottles and spend that little bit extra on a filtered water bottle.
Here you have two options. You can pre-fill a water bottle that contains filtered water from back home. The other option is to buy a water bottle which purifies the water when you fill it up during your hiking trip. We advise you to bring a water bottle which purifies water along the route as you never know how much you need to drink.
Bamboo Utensils
Depending on your hiking trip, you may consider camping along the way due to its long duration. If you are planning on camping, you will need to bring utensils with you that are eco-friendly. So, replace the plastic forks and knives and replace with bamboo cutlery. Not only are these eco-friendly but they are also reusable for your next hiking trip. It is another significant step to ensuring you are more eco-friendly so make sure you buy a bamboo utensil set for your next hiking trip.
High-Quality Backpack
We all know you will need a large backpack for your hiking trip. It is an essential item to store all your other eco-friendly products which you will need for your hiking trip.
When purchasing a backpack, you must ensure the quality is good and it can almost last you a lifetime. Spending more money on this product the better, especially if you consider yourself a semi-pro at hiking. Furthermore, something else you must ensure is that it is crafted from sustainable materials. There are thousands of backpacks which use nylon, polyester and other non-sustainable materials so make sure you read what you are buying.
Reduce Your Water Consumption By Using Solid Toiletries
Something that we encourage for your sustainable hiking trip is using solid toiletries. If you are not sure what solid toiletries are, they are products in bar form which you can use for shampoo, conditioner, face cream, moisturisers and other products you can think of. The only problem with these toiletries is that you must bring a soap tin to keep them from getting dirty. An eco-friendly hair and body care kit are essential for a long weekend of hiking.
No More PFC For Your Outdoor Gear
PFC stands for perfluorinated compounds and these are used on most of our clothes, including the items we wear when hiking. Just because it is designed for the outdoor environment does not mean it is eco-friendly.
PFC is a human hand-made chemical which has been discovered in remote lakes as well as in the livers of polar bears. Due to a Greenpeace campaign, many companies are no longer using PFCs however, due to their effectiveness, no substitute offers the same quality as those garments which do use it. Nonetheless, there are some sustainable brands which design more eco-conscious gear such as Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia.
Solar Powered Battery Chargers
Although we highly suggest you do not use any technology on your hiking trip and take in the environment that is around you, this item may be needed, especially if you cannot put the phone away.
Solar-powered battery charges are a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, especially on your hiking trip. Sometimes, you may require the torch or camera on your phone so it is advised you bring one of these if you are going on a long hiking trip.
To Conclude
As you can see, there are many items that you can bring which are sustainable. These items are a great way to reduce plastic waste on your hiking trip. There are so many other items you can carry with you such as reusable food containers, ethical watch bands, reusable coffee mugs and many more. Now, it is time we all made a change for being more sustainable, even with our hobbies.
Photo by Evgenia Basyrova
