Children scavenge in a plastic wasteland in the Philippines, by J. Tanodra, UNEP
I’ve just been in Vietnam for a little over three weeks and wanted to avoid buying bottled water as much as I could. Of course trips to some parts of the world, including south east Asia, almost always mean the obligatory purchase of about 2 litres of bottled water per person per day because of the health risks of much of the developing world’s drinking water.
The last few times I’ve travelled overseas- to Bali, India, Thailand – I easily consumed about 2 litres of water a day. So I figured that a couple on a 3-week holiday in Vietnam would expect to generate more than 100 330ml water bottles as waste, or 42 one-litre bottles. Considering I avoid buying bottled water at home because of its environmental impacts, the amount I was consuming when I travelled overseas was bothering me.
