In an attempt to reduce its carbon emissions, San Francisco Airport has banned the sale of single use plastic. The move came into effect beginning August 20 prohibiting even restaurants and cafes to sell items bearing single use plastics.
According to CNN, SFO set a goal three years ago of becoming the world's first zero-waste airport by 2021. According to the nonprofit Zero Waste Alliance, that means diverting at least 90% of waste from landfills and incinerators by recycling and composting.
"This is a big move for the airport," said Doug Yakel, SFO's public information officer. "It just further supports our green initiative."
The availability of water however is not affected. The passengers can fill their reusable bottles (or buy one at the airport if they don&rsquot own one) from the 100 refillable water hydration stations located at the premises.
SFO is the first airport in US to undertake this move. However, juices and sodas continue to be available in plastic bottles. Since the airport has no authority over individual airlines, they can continue to serve water or other items with single use plastics.
"We're on the leading edge of the industry, and we want to push the boundaries of sustainability initiatives,&rdquo added Yakel, as reported by Business Insider.
Before the ban, vendors in the airport sold around 10,000 water bottles each day and generated 28 million pounds of waste each year, according to Yakel.
