OP ED: James “JB” Bryson– near and dear to my heart this initiative. Time for the entire PLANET to catch on.

https://www.prensa.com/mundo/Aeropuerto-San-Francisco-prohibira-botellas_0_5364963517.html

San Francisco International Airport will ban single-use plastic bottles and ask passengers to buy refillable bottles if they don’t have them, US media reported.

The rule will be in effect since August 20, the San Francisco Chronicle said and is part of a five-year plan that includes reducing waste dumps and zeroing net carbon and energy emissions.

“We are the first airport that is willing to implement that change,” airport spokesman Doug Yakel told the newspaper.

The ban on plastic bottles will be applied in all restaurants, cafes and vending machines but not in airplanes that operate at the airport. Flavored waters will be exempted.

The filtered water is supplied free in 100 “hydration stations” where travelers can fill their glass or metal bottles.

The airport defines itself as an “industry leader” in environmental sustainability. It has solar panels and instructs the companies that operate in its facilities to use recyclable material.

Airports in Dubai and India announced the ban on plastic bottles but have not yet implemented.

Since 2014 San Francisco prohibits selling water in plastic bottles on city properties but admits exceptions.

World plastic production grew rapidly and is currently more than 400 million tons per year.

Items that are used only once, are 70% of the plastic waste that dirty the waters of the world.

Every year one million birds and more than 100 thousand marine mammals are killed or injured when they get stuck in plastics or ingest it through the food chain.

Canada and the European Union intend to eliminate the use of these plastics since 2021.