Environmentalism has become an increasingly important topic in recent years, which I’d say is a good thing. It’s an area where the United States greatly lags Europe, and it’s terrifying to see just how much plastic and trash we go through in a day.
Continue reading: LAX Bans Sale Of Plastic Water Bottles
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I got a bottle from SFO when I started flying from there in 2021. I still have the aluminium bottle that I got for $5. Would have been same price of it were plastic. If I lose the bottle, it's not biggie. The water filling stations at SFO have tap, sparkling, or cold options. Seems to work well enough.
You can't have it both ways. Either plastic is evil and it destroys the planet or it doesn't. It shouldn't depend on offering water at airports. We (well most of us) know it's all BS. They should spend more effort on cleaning up litter instead of trying to ban it. If it's not plastic bags and bottles it will be something else.
Path water bottles. They’re a good between option. I typically hold on to them before a few months before misplacing or tossing them.
That being said, lucky has a good point about sodas still being for sale. What about flavored sparkling? It’s all a ruse…
Shattered glass bottles + crowded concourses = very happy lawyers.
Hang onto your butts, stupid policy makers.
It is difficult to wash reusable water bottles on the go unless you are staying at a rental home or suite type hotel like homewood suites. I use a reusable for work and wash mine at the end of the day, 2 days tops.
So I’m going to have to stock up on water once I clear security in Houston before connecting at LAX . Water is no longer available for purchase at LAX retail spaces ?
With all due respect to people who bring their own bottles and drink water out of filling stations ; I prefer to drink purified water (Dasani or Aquafina) , spring water (Evian or Aarowhead) , or sparkling mineral water (Perrier or San Pellegrino). How do I stay hydrated on long flights from LAX ? And once airborne bottled water served in flight is environmentally friendly how ? Or will flights originating from LAX for now on only be allowed to serve tank water ?
I agree with the stupidity of banning plastic water bottles given that there is not sufficient high quality water available on tap. I do carry at least one refillable water bottle - sometimes including a used plastic disposable water bottle - but I want to refill with filtered water. It is unbelievable the number of airports that think it is acceptable to expect people to drink warm, unfiltered tap water while pushing security and climate mandates.
as for electronics and water damage from leaking refillable water bottles, I fear the same thing but have never had a problem as long as I take liquids out of the pockets of my carryons when they are in any position other than upright.
Folks, they are going to sell alumnimum cans/bottle with water in them. Yes, they will be more expensive, but this eliminates single use plastics.
Live and let live. If you don’t want to buy a plastic water bottle, then don’t. But the board of airport commissioners shouldn’t be telling me I can’t buy one if I want to.
Crazy rule
Will places start selling Perrier in a glass bottle?
They would save the environment more if they banned flights.
FYI, I have reused bottled water bottles.
Just flew out of LAX last night and stopped near the flight’s gate to pickup my usual 2 large bottles of Evian before an international flight. Was shocked to find just the tall aluminum Smart water, or small glass Evian bottles. Very annoying to have to buy 4 aluminum bottles to get the same amount of water I used to get in 2 large Evian. I’m sure it was probably about twice the cost for inferior water.
Great, now people can continue to pretend to care about the environment while flying all over the world. Let's fly to a climate change conference in Bali with our aluminum water bottles and pat ourselves on the back for being such wonderful people!
However most companies are moving away from producing them. The airport authority can prohibit the sale on its premises.
Prices at LAX and other US airports are a joke anyhow. $12 for a badly made sandwich or $5 for water. At Haneda Tokyo you can have a well prepared Japanese meal for $10.
Meanwhile, you can take a walk over to the security checkpoint and marvel at all the single use plastics being thrown out prematurely because of our archaic TSA laws
The hydration stations will all be broken in a month.
Most airports don’t do a good job maintaining these units.
BRAVO
. . . somebody has to start, banning plastic, especially in a culture, where people DON'T even think of it, because they're so used to it, to just grab one.
BUT, why is it always CA that's F I R S T when it comes to the environment?
GOOD!!! Americans will make this political. America is dead. Your government is making this not a free country. People are winers and complainers. Poor baby's.
They also tell you, you can't have public Sex in the airports bathrooms . . . and it's still happening!
So i wonder, if you ALWAYS act like a little cranky baby, once somebody puts a bann on something they think is "right".
They have control, so leave it or take it as it, simple as that!
with a deposit on it! 😉 hopefully that will be raised to 35cents soon ALL OVER that not so environmentally friendly country!
Water will still be sold, it will just be in an aluminum bottle/can instead of a plastic bottle. So you can stay hydrated on your flights from LAX by buying an aluminum bottle of purified water and then drinking it.
Flew out of Cancun airport last month and bought mineral water in a glass bottle.
If they are so worried about the environment what about all other plastic is very were look it keep people safe in hospital and food safe they are just stupid when it just one problem it more than it comes water bottles and soda it is about money to make more money off of something they can't stop
Meanwhile, just outside security… relief organizations distribute plastic water bottles liberally to LA’s massive homeless population.
aluminum is recyclable and it's lighter than glass (for transport emissions). That seems like a better tactic.
I doubt they are going to sell glass bottles. I think you'll see aluminum cans and boxed water. In Canada I've seen recyclable single use aluminum bottles (at an event sponsored by Alcan/Rio Tinto, the largest aluminum producer). Aluminum is much easier to recycle than plastic (DD is right -- infinitely recyclable).
Reuseable bottles have different types of latches/caps, so the leaking issue can be handled if you buy the right item. Also, some backpacks have water pockets outside and separate laptop pockets so minimize the chance of water damage to your laptop.
So... just water? Coke, Pepsi and other high sugar drinks are fine in plastic.
So LAX created an incentive for people to be less healthy. Brilliant. If they cared about health and environment they would ban every drink other than water.
I started carrying a great thermal water bottle with me. I also travel now with a backpack as find it is my favorite carryon for both weight and ease of mobility and it has an external pocket for the bottle. Anyhow the reason I really like this setup is I fill the water bottle with ice and water in the lounge and enjoy ice cold water all day long. Great when traveling in the summer or to warm places.
Aluminum and dementia.
"Is aluminum in the brain of Alzheimer's patients?
Post-mortem examinations of humans with Alzheimer's disease sufferers show that many have higher amounts of aluminum than normal in their brains. Aluminum is not normally found in healthy brain tissue and researchers do not know how or why the metal accumulates in the brain."
Be sure to check your deodorant for aluminum compounds.
It’s high time people start using their brains and not rely on incentives. Look, airport made me buy a soda!
I have to say, this has been completely a non-issue at SFO since they did it. Tempest in a teapot, on either side of the debate.
Hubris. Arrogance. Authoritarianism. They all go together.
And this policy is ridiculous. Proper, healthy hydration on flights (many quite long) is a health issue and this policy will undermine that.
Exactly. Why not water in aluminum cans? I will not drink tap water in many places including Southern California.
And this will achieve what? The climate will change...the sun will shine brighter....what?? The answer is nothing, other than the do-gooders feeling good, like they are making a change. Meanwhile it's just another PITA for the average traveler. It started years ago with allowing the government to tell us what light bulbs we could use. People said what's the big deal? It's just light bulbs. Incrementally we allow government to take more and more control of our daily lives. It spreads like a cancer.
This isn’t such a big deal. On recent domestic and international trips, we have purchased water in nice wide mouth aluminum bottles for the same price as plastic in the airport stores and food stalls. We then use the bottles for the rest of our trip, refilling them as we go along. We put them with the recycling when we return home. They are not insulated, but they are much more durable than plastic, they don’t crush, and they can be washed easily. Plastic bottles just don’t hold up for extended reuse. We’ve use them daily for trips of more than a month. They save use a lot of money compared to plastic.
Good for LAX. SFO has sold water in reusable aluminum bottles for years (as does PHL — I’ve bought Path water at both) for a similar price as soda and other drinks. It seems to work fine there. Frankly I wish aluminum bottles for water were far more common, since they are generally a nicer experience — no crinkly plastic or flimsy caps that don’t easily fit on again, no stale-plastic taste, and reusable.
Don’t see the big deal. Internationally, cardboard water bottles are used regularly. Just as light as plastic bottles.
Great....just what I want to do is use a water filling station that thousands of other travelers will be using giving me cooties from around the world. How many times per day will LAX airports have sanitizing these machines? Probably never. And getting water in the lounge. I do get ice in my Yeti and then add water to it in the United Club, but unlike the other pigs there, I use a clean plastic cup to get ice and another clean plastic cup to add water to the Yeti.....so, i've just wasted 2 plastic cups.....so much for being environmentally friendly. Ridiculous rule that should have never been passed.
Yes . Come to think of it I drank four San Pellegrino out of the can at LAX back in May. I saw Evian sparkling water in the can in GRU. As long as there are still options to buy water.
It's not about the material but it's about the people.
You think banning plastic bottle would save environment such as the whales. Probably, but I bet then instead of finding plastic bottles in a dead whale, you'd find aluminum bottles in a dead whale.
Staying hydrated while traveling is a big deal. So now they are making it more difficult for people to be healthy. How is that the correct thing for people. All the time ignoring the fact that America is not the biggest problem. Try Russia china. And India. We could reduce to 0 and in the big picture makes little difference because of the big 3.
Its a power play on a captive audience.
The Elkay filling stations used in most US airports are touchless and very clean. The filters let you know when they're ready to change.
The "purified" water you are drinking from Dasani and Aquafina is cleaned by the exact same process, using the exact same local city water, as the hydration stations at LAX and other airports
One of the biggest problems is the insane TSA requirement of throwing away plastic bottles with too much liquid in them. That should be modified to stop this insanity along with having legal requirements about functioning water fountains.
Aquafina is distributed by Pepsi Co and Dasani by Coca Cola. Tastes smoother than the basic supermarket brand waters. I would return glass bottles and cans to the super market and recycle them for 20 cents each.
Soft drinks and other sugary beverages need thicker plastic containers due to their carbonation and/or bottling processes. Even with continuing growth and increased consumption, bottled water still has the smallest water and energy use footprint of any packaged beverage.
Typical woke left Coast virtue signalling nonsense
This is STUPID and will make people more unhealthy and will do nothing for the "environment". I'm sure 100% of the glass and aluminum will be recycled too.....yeah right. Chalk this up to another virtue signal from LA and California in general.
Dumb politicians and authority who only look to get a pat and climb the ladder without far future and mature vision
As usual, California and the socialist leadership have lost their ever loving minds. Let’s allow everyone to drink soda out of plastic bottles, but not water.
Is there one brain cell alive and well in the CA leadership?
I'm for it, when water from the refill stations are drinkable. Even now, 4 out of 5 taste like crap.
Lord at the whining.
Used my Contigo plastic water bottle all over the world including a lot of 3rd world countries. Never a side days problem.
If you are SO persnickety that would NEED filtered water, buy one with a built in filter. It's not rocket surgery here.
Totally approve! Ban all plastic containers everywhere including grocery stores. Not only does it taste 100 X better, but glass is melted sand and indefinitely reusable which makes it the best solution and environmentally friendly.
When you travel with your son, you'll need to have a water bottle at all times. Also glass and aluminIum are not the only alternatives: in Australia we have water in cans and small cardboard containers.
I always bring a water bottle and appreciate the hydration stations at most airports.
Lefto SFO banned plastic bottles last year... gotta love calif?????controlling-nanny state
This is again stupid American or rather California virtue signaling that does not solve anything. Only Californians/Americans really around everywhere with an empty bottle. The test of the world does not. This being an international airport over should think they'd consider the behavior of a large portion of it's customers.
They are definitely selling small glass bottles of Evian. Saw them on Friday night at LAX TBIT. Thought to myself (that’s odd in an airport).
Would be happy with aluminum only if all brands used it, and offered different sizes. Smart Water is the only one that’s currently available… not my preferred brand.
I’m not a fan of this move either, but sugary, carbonated drinks have been offered in aluminum cans far longer than in plastic bottles.
Landing at SFO from Taipei last year, I had a short domestic connection. Running to my gate, I and tried to get a liter of water for the next flight from the nearest newsstand, since I was parched from very little water service on the last flight. The only option at SFO was 12oz aluminum cans of Dasani water, priced at TEN DOLLARS. Bought it anyway, drank it on board the flight to Phoenix, and I think I tossed it in a recycling bin upon arrival.
Glad to see my upcoming flight back to Asia next month, through LAX of course, will require me to haul several aluminum bottles through security, and spend several minutes each filling them at the drinking fountains, to get enough water for the 13 hour flight.
Tetrapak containers (which is usually what people think of as “cardboard bottles”) aren’t any easier to recycle than plastic. They contain polymer and aluminum because… they have to be watertight, obviously. And cardboard isn’t. But as a result, they can’t be recycled or composted with regular paper. It’s roughly the same reason most “paper” coffee cups (like Starbucks) aren’t easily recycled - they contain poly coating to keep the coffee from soaking through.
I always bring a reuseable bottle, and encourage others to do it on my Instagram handle Aquino_amy.
In addition, water in more easily reusable and infinitely more recyclable aluminum is being sold now (@manalalu and even the Kroger house brand). Plastic really, really is our enemy, and there is simply no more time to waste eliminating it. Oh, and btw, I'm old enough to remember when we never even THOUGHT about buying water. So as far as I'm concerned - big kudos to LAX for this decision.
I am constantly upset to throw out a full plastic water bottle at security CK, 3 oz, oh please? So I take a few from the AL lounge, or buy a large one from a concession. I could take my reusable, which keeps water cold all night, but it is 12 oz. Crazy world, crazy rules, while we try to help the environment. Someone needs to fix the inconsistencies of trying to do right!
I also want to add that it is a hassle to take out your water bottle too. Sometimes you may forget and then you have to be sent to a secondary line. Unless they stop this laptop and shoe BS, this ban is just an empty gesture. Plus I notice that most people, who are environmental conscious, have already carried their own reusable water bottles. For the rest, they will not alter their behavior. It is a meaningless gesture that may backfire and produce more trash.
It just creates more stress for your average passenger!
Adrian
I have selective IgA deficiency, zero surface immunity in my gut, so using water coolers is dangerous. So now i can get wickedly dehydrated when i fly or else risk a bad GI infection.
It’s curious how many right wingers follow this blog.
At the end of the day…ack, whatever. Just make do with whatever you’re dealt. It’s just water!!!
Dumb dumb dumb. Typical CA laws overreaching. Oh you can't buy water but here's a soda. Stupid
The Environmental Working Group has found that on AVERAGE traces of 38 different toxins are found in commercially available bottled water.
Yes, I hear all the fuss about 'nanny state' overreach, etc.
I get it.
But plastic beverage containers should never have been legal in the first place. Their toxicity was never studied before mass introduction.
And I also absolutely agree with the incongruence of allowing plastic bottle soda pop to continue to be distributed in airports.
That's just dumb.
Is the energy to create aluminum or glass bottles cheaper than a plastic bottle? What's the carbon footprint for this process? Curious. Those who want to recycle will often do so. If you decide to throw away plastic, aluminum or glass you're still putting stuff in landfills, regardless of its material. Yes, less plastic is better in terms of littering on streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc. These are airports, which are enclosed and controlled areas with lots of recycling opportunities. This is more gov't overreach. Start educating people on being better stewards on how to properly recycle
Stupid! Stupid!!!
How about all the other plastic containers used to sell food items? How about the plastic utensils used ar these fast food concessions?
Although LAX has installed the hydration station, at some point the city is going to want to make money by charging to refill our own refillable bottle water. Argh. I so glad to be moving out of CA.
Stupid idea because the focus is on WATER bottles, and not bottles in general. The sodas and other drinks in airport shops are usually plastic bottles.
My question is --
Will the automated hydration stations demand tips before or after they dispense water?
I was in LAX last week. I bought a Dasani water that came in an aluminum bottle. I thought it was a great idea and was unaware of the new rules.
They're putting 60 extra bubblers out there.
This isn't an issue. You don't need to carry a bottle of water. Drink as you need it. And if it's for later, there'll obviously be a drink on the flight, or where you're going for a meal.
Because water doesn't need a bottle. You can just drink from the fountain.
The other drinks do.
Or just buy the replacement water in a glass bottle if you have a special need as you describe.
Very bad move. I only drink certain brands of water so this sucks for me. I do not drink tap water. If they want to band plastic then include all beverages.
During Covid all the drinking fountains were shut down. What will be the airport plan? I personally do not drink soft drinks. What will be my alternative?
How often will the water stations be cleaned?
So do they provide this disgusting american tap water or is it real drinking water?
American drinking water tastes like sewing water.
Get over and used to these new rules. It’s hardly the big deal some people make it out to be. What did we do before plastic water bottles were used? You will survive.
@Lucky, I take my reusable bottle and frequently fill it from the filtered water dispenser in the hotel gym. I have one that is smaller and very light. When it's full, it goes in the outside pocket of my backpack. Empty, it goes inside.
Most plastic bottles are used exactly once and plastic pollution is a huge problem. Even when the bottles are recycled the create microplastics which are bad for all of us.
Glass frequently breaks in single stream recycling and contaminates everything.
Metal is valuable enough and easy enough to recycle that virtually none of it goes in the landfill.
Everyone here -- please start using your refillable bottle. You can even pick up a metal bottle at the airport and refill it a few times and then throw it away. Eliminating single use plastics is one of the best ways we can all make a positive contribution to the environment.
I work at LAX and the filters on the water refill stations are frequently not changed. Many times the filter shows red for months before someone changes them (people have even written in sharpie on them “please change”). Also the water refill stations they’ve “added” thus far are largely pre security (which doesn’t help). Even the main concourse in international terminal has few (if any) actual bottle refill stations. for the others in the other terminals, the water tastes disgusting and is Luke warm.
I honestly think that single use water bottles are GERAT refillers for re useable bottles, theres no way that anything could be shoved inside,paranoid me would thing somone put poison in the refill stations