
San Francisco airport bans sale of plastic bottles - Merrill
https://www.france24.com/en/20190803-san-francisco-airport-bans-sale-plastic-bottles
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mbrumlow
Of all the places to ban plastic bottles this makes the lease sense.

People are traveling. Glass is not really a option.

But good job SF. Flavored water. The most useless water is still sold.

Any other place in SF and this sort of ban would be fine. But not a Airport.

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Spivak
They're not banning plastic bottles they're banning the sale of single-use
plastic bottles.

I think this is going to drive the sale of soda and sugar water more than it
will drive the use of the water stations but the intent is at least there.

I really wish they would take the next step and have people fill up their
reusable bottles with soda from the fountains but there are a bunch of drinks
that only exist canned or bottled so I understand the exception.

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kube-system
There will undoubtably be many thousands of travelers who show up unaware or
unprepared for this. Do these people now have to purchase a reusable bottle if
they’d like to carry around a water with them? I sure hope this doesn’t end up
backfiring and creating _more_ waste.

Reusable bottles can consist of an order of magnitude or more plastic than a
disposable water bottle, and if people aren’t reusing that bottle after they
leave the airport, this might not actually lead to a reduction in waste.

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orev
I travel a lot, and one thing I always carry with me is a disposable plastic
bottle. Good sturdy ones (SmartWater is the best one) that have a good cap
(i.e. sturdy threads, not a sport cap) can be reused many times, and are
lightweight. I have reused the same bottle for over a year sometimes.

You have the option to throw it out if you really need to, like if there’s a
clueless security agent, you forget to drain it before security, or in
airports where they don’t understand the security difference between an empty
and a full bottle. In those situations, being able to replace it as soon as I
go through security is a big help, otherwise you’re at the mercy of the flight
attendants to decide to serve drinks.

Given the options of “reduce”, “reuse”, and “recycle”, they would be better
off promoting “reuse” instead of “reduce” in this situation.

I don’t want to be forced to have to buy a Yeti when I’m traveling.

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xref
The tall skinny 1L smartwater bottles are perfect for backpacking, haven’t
carried a nalgene in several years now

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ehvatum
No bottles is a minor inconvenience, at worst. I have taken to loading up my
carryon bag with thousands of free syringes that I charge with Gatorade, so I
can directly inject electrolytes whenever I feel feint. Disposal of used
syringes is a no-brainer: I just carelessly fling them in any random
direction. As a hydration addict, I’m a marginalized person, so my needs come
first.

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thex10
> Filtered water is provided for free at 100 "hydration stations," where
> flyers can top up glass or metal bottles.

I'm glad to see this. My local (large, international) airport still hasn't
upgraded its water fountains yet, forcing me to awkwardly refill my big water
bottle from a tiny spout emitting a variable trickle.

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olivermarks
There are not enough easily accessible refill faucets at SFO. They could sell
cheapo reusable flasks and donate the money to charity. The flavored water
exemption is flat out wrong imo

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perl4ever
Flavored water is exempt? That's flat out hilarious.

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esailija
It is misleading (actually a total lie...), here's the list:

[https://sfoconnect.com/sites/default/files/SFO%20Approved%20...](https://sfoconnect.com/sites/default/files/SFO%20Approved%20Water%20Bottle%20List_071819.pdf)

As you see, it is not about flavored water or brands, it's just about plastic-
free container. [https://sfoconnect.com/zero-waste-
concessions](https://sfoconnect.com/zero-waste-concessions)

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perl4ever
I don't see how that list refutes or confirms the claim that nominally
flavored water in plastic bottles is still allowed.

The second link says "Drinking water includes purified water, mineral water,
carbonated or sparkling water, and electrolyte-enhanced water." which isn't
extremely specific, but doesn't sound like it includes soda, so it might not
include flavored water.

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koolba
> It exempts brands of flavored water.

Does “flavored with electrolytes” count?

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dawnerd
Isn’t soda technically just flavored water too? It is after all, mostly water.

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perl4ever
Seltzer water, ostensibly fruit flavored but with no sugar, sweetener, or
color is increasingly popular. The only thing it has over water is a slight
fizz, a little sour/bitter taste, and probably better profit margins.

What do you think is the point of forcing people to purchase that rather than
plain water?

