Ways to be a green traveller

To help make your visit to Melbourne a more environmentally sustainable one, try the following tips on how to get around, what to eat and where to stay.

1. Step into Melbourne’s secrets

With its hidden laneways and arcades, Melbourne is best discovered on foot. Our Melbourne Walks series of guides have eight walks ranging from parks and gardens, arcades and laneways to architecture and design.

2. Lessen the journey with others

Melbourne has an excellent transport network such as trams (including wind-powered trams), trains and buses which offer a great alternative to taking the car. Viclink can bring you directly into Melbourne from regional Victoria by either coach, train or bus.

If you’ve flown into Melbourne, why not off-set your flight through one of the many carbon offset programs.

While you are in the city, travel on the free Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle or the free City Circle Tram.

3. Exchange four wheels for two

Ever explored a city by bike? Melbourne has a great network of riverside and urban bike paths that can help you explore the city further. Not only is it great for the environment but it’s great exercise as well!

Download a copy of the TravelSmart bike map (PDF 6mb)  or pick one up from the Melbourne Visitor Centre at Federation Square, where you can also find out where and how to hire bikes in the city.

4. Visit our local markets

Reduce the carbon footprint of the food you eat by sourcing local produce. Melbourne has some great markets, so why not sample some of our fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, wines and meats at the Queen Victoria Market for example?

Local produce is perfect for a picnic by the Yarra river in one of Melbourne’s stunning parks or gardens.

5. Savour the aroma

Melbourne has a reputation for great coffee. So why not sit down at one of the many cafés in the city and take in the ambience. A takeaway coffee in a disposable cup is never as good and disposable cups significantly contribute to land fill when not recycled. So sit down, relax and enjoy the break.

6. Support our green stars

Look out for accommodation operators that participate in accreditation programs such as AAA Tourism’s Green Star Accreditation or Green Globe.

AAA Tourism’s Green STAR logo will help you find properties that have earned this accreditation based on their energy efficiency, waste management and water minimisation.

7. Take what you need

Consider the number of brochures you take and where possible, download visitor information. The Melbourne Visitor Centre at Federation Square provides face-to-face travel advice and has recently gained Green Globe accreditation.

8. Check out Melbourne’s green building credentials

Visit Melbourne’s green buildings to get a feel for the future of our city. The City of Melbourne’s CH2 building set new standards internationally in green building design, and is happily seeing those standards met – and raised – by newer buildings within the city and beyond.

Pick up a copy of Melbourne’s Sustainable Buildings map at the Melbourne Visitors Centre at Federation Square, and discover more about the city’s unique and sustainable buildings.

9. Let’s keep it short

While on holidays it’s nice to have a little luxury but the days of long showers are behind us, so make sure your showers are kept short. Whether on holidays or at home, remember water is precious.

10. Mix it up

Make sure you divide your rubbish up into land fill and recyclable and put it in the appropriate bin.

The city has heaps of recycling bins on city streets and in parks and gardens. The bins are easily recognisable, with a distinctive yellow recycling symbol painted onto a blue background. You can recycle glass, rigid plastic containers (such as drink bottles and takeaway containers), aluminium and steel cans and clean paper and cardboard.

Visit the City of Melbourne website for more information.

For further information on how to travel responsibly, you might want to visit the following sites:

ResponsibleTravel.com
ResponsibleTravel.org