Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the authority that oversees LAX and Van Nuys Airport, is banning the sale of single-use plastic water bottles.
At Los Angeles International Airport and Van Nuys Airport, water bottles will no longer be sold after a two-year phase-out period approved in June 2021.
All bottles must be in containers made from recyclable aluminum or glass, although bottles on flights are exempt from the ban.
This effort is a part of LA’s “Green New Deal” to make the city carbon neutral by 2050. Transportation, energy use, waste, and water sourcing are also issues addressed in initiatives.
Justin Erbacci, LAWA’s CEO, said about the upcoming ban, “Eliminating single-use plastic water bottles is essential to improving our environment and enhancing sustainability across our airports.”
LAWA reported that more than 9 million plastic water bottles were sold at LAX in 2019 alone, averaging more than 24,000 bottles each day.
LAX is the second airport in the world to enact a ban on plastic water bottle sales, following San Francisco International Airport in 2019, which expanded to include other types of beverages in 2021.
Featured image credit Los Angeles International Airport, second image credit Pexels
