Have you ever wanted to do more for the environment on your family vacations? Want to explore new places, eat exotic food, all while volunteering for a good cause and improving the country you visit?
So do we!

Voluntourism is a phenomenon where travelers include activities focused on furthering a charitable cause into their vacation. This takes an altruistic spin on the traditional family vacation, and provides an easy outlet to volunteer while visiting various parts of the world.

One example of voluntourism in action is Delta’s bi-yearly Habitat for Humanity builds as part of our Force for Global Good. The Delta’s Force for Global Good campaign began with the airline’s first Habitat build in Katlehong, South Africa, a township located east of Johannesburg where Delta and Habitat volunteers built homes in partnership with four families. It has since grown into several projects and hundreds of volunteers!

Check out pictures from the recent Ghana build on delta.com, read Michelle’s account of the Mumbai, India build last year here on the blog, and learn how to bid on your own voluntourism vacation for opportunities all over the world.

Next up: Delta and Northwest employees are partnering with Habitat for Humanity to build homes in Santiago, Chile this month (Nov 7-14th). Our employees will keep you updated on our progress every step of the way here on our blog.

For your next vacation, consider traveling to a new place (flying Delta, of course) and improving the exotic location you visit. Whether it’s by planting new trees or raising money for a cause, your destination and its native people will appreciate it!

Have you ever taken a voluntourism trip? If so, let us know your experience!

Kelly
Environmental Health Co-op

A lot of Delta employees have been asking us lately if there are any ways to recycle their electronic devices such as TVs, computer monitors, etc. Since Delta does not currently offer these services onsite, we have recently learned that both Office Depot and Staples have eCycling programs which accept electronic devices for a small fee, and we’d like to share these discoveries with our readers.

While Delta does not endorse these specific programs, we’re offering them for your consideration if you’re looking for a local outlet for e-recycling.

To participate in the Office Depot Tech Recycling, simply ask a store associate for a Tech Recycling Box, which range in price from $5-$15, depending on the size. You can then place your used electronics in the box (as many as will fit), and they accept computer monitors, small televisions, fax machines, laptops, digital cameras, VCRs, and other technical appliances. For a full list, visit their website. You can bring your unsealed Tech Recycling Box to any Office Depot store, and they’ll take care of the rest!

You can also bring your used computers, monitors, laptops and printers to any Staples store and they will recycle them for you for only $10 per piece of large equipment. They also accept keyboards, mice, and speakers for no charge.

The reason that there is a cost for recycling technical devices is because it costs the store to cover the handling, transport, product disassembly and recycling of the products, but it’s definitely better than simply throwing away old computers and TVs. Many technical devices contain substances such as lead, cadmium and mercury, and these elements can cause problems to the environment if not handled properly when disposed of. In a world where it’s becoming almost essential to use renewable materials, what better way to help out a little bit by recycling your old electronic devices!

If you know of any other ways to recycle technical devices then please respond here! Recycling is a group effort, and we’d love to hear your opinion!

If you have more questions about e-recycling, visit the EPA’s website for details.

Kelly
Environmental Health Co-op

As many of you know, Delta passengers are allowed to check one bag free of charge when traveling in the U.S. and U.S. territories and two bags if traveling internationally. Each bag can weigh no more than 50 pounds, nor be greater than 62 inches when you total length plus width and height. Please visit our baggage allowances pages and baggage tips for more details.

Fuel prices have soared over the past few months, causing considerable financial stress to the airlines. At Delta, we continue to take steps mitigate the extraordinary run up in fuel expense. One way our passengers can help is to pack light.

Here are some simple tips:

• Make a list of items you will need and stick to it.
• Check your list twice: edit it down, way down. Cross off everything you don’t absolutely need. You can always buy something if you need it.
• Choose the Right Bag: If you bring a bag that is really large, you will probably fill the space. It’s just human nature. Choose a bag based on: Quality (to stand up to a beating) and Transportability (since you will actually carry your luggage more than we will). Eagle Creek and Victorinox are both great brands who make a variety of bags for business travelers, backpackers, and vacationers.
• Don’t fold your clothes, bundle wrap them: bundle wrapping involves the careful wrapping of clothes around a central core object, avoiding folds that result in creases. Check out OneBag.com for instructions.
• For more information check out Independent Traveler’s Interactive Packing List.

It has been estimated that the amount of jet fuel used to move an object is 4% of that objects weight per hour. Thus, if you bag weighs 50 pounds, it uses 2 pounds of jet fuel per hour. Jet fuel weighs about 6 pounds a gallon (compared to water which is over 8 pounds per gallon), thus it takes about a third of a gallon each hour just to fly a 50 pound bag. It may not seem like a lot, but when you have 200+ passengers, all of their baggage, and the weight of the plane, it adds up quickly.

Please help do your part to conserve fuel and reduce the impact on our environment by packing light.

Meghan

Sustainability Intern