First of all, I'm realizing what a bubble we residents of the San Francisco Bay Area live in, with our No Plastic Bag policies and mandatory composting.
Second, travel is inherently wasteful. Without a home base, I'm drifting in a sea of disposable options.
Third, I'm honestly horrified at how little effort the hotel puts into providing any zero waste opportunities to its guests.
Here is the waste receptacle for my room:
I'm including an "empty" photo of the ONLY waste bin in my room (not even a bin for recyclables, although recycling bins are out on the streets of San Antonio) because I'm too embarrassed to photograph it full of compostables, recyclables, and items I usually use a reusable version at home, such as these:
The hotel restrooms have no hand dryers. Instead, these are offered for hand drying, and go into the general catch-all waste bins:
Probably the clearest salute to selfish convenience over all is the "choice" provided at the beverage table in the conference room:
Disposable coffee and water cups, AND reusable ones? Ugh.
More frustrating than the wastefulness of travel is the guilt involved in my realization that if I were to make zero waste travel my number one priority, I could do a great job of being mindful while away from home. But I let a million and one other details take precedence, and ultimately, my heart weighed heavily as my used q- tips thudded to the bottom of the trash can, surely destined for the lone star landfill.
