After another episode of seeing airport security take a brand new unsealed bottle of water and throw it in the trash, I was livid. Not only at the sheer ridiculousness of what they do and why they do it, but also my assumption that none of it is recycled. A quick google search led me to find others who agree with me.

First of all, throwing out an unopened bottle of water isn't protecting anyone. Ok, so maybe I understand the logic if it's already open, but if the seal is unbroken it just defies logic. And then to throw it straight into the trash is absurd. Not only is it crazy, but it also is environmentally unfriendly in two ways. 1) It could easily be recycled, but from the sounds of it it goes straight to the landfill and 2) what a waste of water! In an age where we are more environmentally friendly why should any government sponsored agency be throwing water and plastic straight into a landfill.

Moving on, I also was thinking about how they could/should take all those other products that can't be taken through security, and "recycle" those. They could be used at homeless shelters or even be the basis for a little for profit company which resells or donates unopened toiletries and other "illegal" items.

Labels: airport security, recycling, travel, tsa