Single-use plastic water bottles now banned at this airport effective as of Friday, June 30, 2023 means that passengers will need to bring their own empty containers and fill them at various stations found throughout all of the terminals if they are thirsty and want to drink water.
Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles Now Banned At This Airport
The following message was posted at the official Twitter site of Los Angeles International Airport:
Effective today, LAX will ban the sale of single-use plastic water bottles. We encourage guests to bring reusable water bottles that can be filled at various water stations throughout our terminals. Thank you for helping us reduce plastic waste as we move towards zero waste. pic.twitter.com/gMtYbWh1gc
— LAX Airport (@flyLAXairport) June 30, 2023
Effective today, LAX will ban the sale of single-use plastic water bottles. We encourage guests to bring reusable water bottles that can be filled at various water stations throughout our terminals. Thank you for helping us reduce plastic waste as we move towards zero waste.
Not everyone is happy about this ban, as some people believe that the filters at the water stations — such as the one featured in the photograph at the top of this article — are rarely or never changed; the temperature of the water is tepid at best; or the taste can be off…
…or a combination thereof.
Final Boarding Call
Although I have had water whose flavor was questionable at times or the temperature was lukewarm at best, I do support the increasing number of airports which have installed water stations which can be used to fill empty bottles or containers with drinking water. This is a great workaround to the ridiculous restrictions on the amount of liquids that passengers can carry as imposed by the Transportation Security Administration for decades; and it also helps save consumers money on expensive bottles of water which are sold at airports.
I am not so sure that I completely support the complete ban of single-use bottles, as I believe it goes a little too far — despite my wanting to help save and preserve the environment as much as possible. This ban from Los Angeles International Airport follows similar actions by San Francisco International Airport, the state of California, the state of New York, and multinational lodging companies such as Marriott International, Incorporated; Hyatt Hotels Corporation; AccorHotels; and InterContinental Hotels Group.
Water fountains have existed for decades at airports near wash rooms and toilets; but some people were squeamish about drinking water from these fountains due to germs and the supposedly unsanitary uses of them. The water stations used to fill bottles have no external nozzle, which reduces the possibility of contamination.
When the water is clean and cold, the water stations are invaluable to thirsty travelers, in my opinion.
I was especially excited to see water stations installed at the airports within the city of New York, as I can fill them with my favorite tap water. Back up that water tanker truck…
Photograph ©2023 by Brian Cohen.
