- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances 2007,
Via Francigena Italy, 2008,
Jakobsweg Austria 2010,
Camino Frances 2011,
Le Puy to Lourdes 2012,
Via de la Plata 2013,
Future:
Ökumenischer (Via Regia), Germany,
Lycian Way, Turkey
Periodically the question of using or purchasing plastic water bottles is raised.
Most know that fresh potable drinking water on the Camino Frances in Spain, is readily available from the numerous fountains that line the route. Even on the lesser traveled routes fresh clean water is almost aways available for free. Therefore it is completely unnecessary to "purchase" water in plastic water bottles. By taking a sustainable refillable container instead and refusing to use single plastic disposal water bottles, we collectively go a long way to keeping the camino a little more cleaner and the environment and our world just a bit more safer.
It is important to remember that even recycled plastic rarely "disappears' from the environment and much of plastic bottles simply ends up in landfill sites or along the trail in fields and rivers. Even with advances in the manufacture of plastic bottle the average time for a plastic bottle to completely degrade is at least 450 years. It can even take some bottles 1000 years to biodegrade! Four million plastic bottles are simply thrown away in Spain alone. Sadly most plastic even as it degrades into small particles, simply ends up in the ocean, where marine life later consumes it. Now in the food chain this means we are consuming this very same plastic!
The same applies to plastic bags and containers, and other single use plastic items.
Please keep this in mind as you organize your equipment list for your camino.
Most know that fresh potable drinking water on the Camino Frances in Spain, is readily available from the numerous fountains that line the route. Even on the lesser traveled routes fresh clean water is almost aways available for free. Therefore it is completely unnecessary to "purchase" water in plastic water bottles. By taking a sustainable refillable container instead and refusing to use single plastic disposal water bottles, we collectively go a long way to keeping the camino a little more cleaner and the environment and our world just a bit more safer.
It is important to remember that even recycled plastic rarely "disappears' from the environment and much of plastic bottles simply ends up in landfill sites or along the trail in fields and rivers. Even with advances in the manufacture of plastic bottle the average time for a plastic bottle to completely degrade is at least 450 years. It can even take some bottles 1000 years to biodegrade! Four million plastic bottles are simply thrown away in Spain alone. Sadly most plastic even as it degrades into small particles, simply ends up in the ocean, where marine life later consumes it. Now in the food chain this means we are consuming this very same plastic!
The same applies to plastic bags and containers, and other single use plastic items.
Please keep this in mind as you organize your equipment list for your camino.