Airports and airlines want travelers to ditch their plastic water bottles

Business and leisure travelers concerned about climate change and "flight shame" may do their part by purchasing carbon offsets and adjusting the number of trips they take on airplanes. Airports and airlines are trying to save the planet, too, with a wide range of sustainable initiatives that include cutting down on single-use plastics and making reusable water bottles essential travel amenities. In 2019, San Francisco International Airport launched an ambitious Zero Waste Concessions Program designed to significantly reduce the amount of single-use disposable plastic used at the airport. Noting that in 2018 nearly 4 million slow-to-biodegrade plastic water bottles were sold at the airport, in August 2019 it became the first airport in the nation to ban the sale of single-use plastic water bottles.

The San Francisco airport now actively encourages each passenger to bring their own reusable water bottle with them to the airport and get free water from one of the hydration stations in the terminals. Bottled sodas, teas and juices are currently exempt from the policy. And bottled water is still being sold, but only in approved packaging made from recyclable aluminum or glass, or in compostable packaging. Airports in a growing number of cities in the United States and around the world are getting serious about sustainability projects that are good for the environment and, in some cases, the bottom line.

"Whether through their participation in the Airport Carbon Accreditation program, implementation of more sustainable business practices, or even by the elimination of drinking straws and other single use plastics, airports are taking a variety of approaches to be good neighbors in their communities," said Scott Elmore, spokesman for Airports Council International – North America. In February 2019, Glasgow Airport offered all 5,300 people working in and around the airport free, reusable bottles. In September 2019, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport announced a campaign to phase out all single-use plastic straws at the airport. In October 2019, the Airports Authority of India announced that at least 55 airports in the country had banned single-use plastic items such as straws, plastic cutlery and plastic plates.

And Jan. 1 is the deadline for Dubai's two airports, Dubai International Airport — the world's busiest airport for international travelers — and Dubai World Central Airport, to be entirely free of single-use plastics such as plastic cutlery, drinking straws, meal packaging and bags. "Along with our partners, including global brands such as McDonald's, Costa Coffee and Starbucks, we are committed to not only removing single-use plastics but in their place providing appropriate and importantly sustainable alternatives," Dubai Airports' Executive Vice President Eugene Barry said in a statement. Barry said finding replacements for plastic bottles remains a challenge for the airports, so for now bottle recycling efforts are being beefed up.