Hooray for Portland and San Francisco -- and now perhaps Chicago -- airports for going green, balancing reduction in plastic waste and cost of its disposal with TSA's concern about liquids from outside the airport getting into secure areas.
Instead of making travelers dispose of water bottles entirely at the security checkpoints, the Portland International Airport has set up "pouring stations" into which liquid may be dumped so the empty water bottle can be added to carry-on bags and refilled later -- or simply be recycled.
San Francisco's new terminal will have "hydration stations" just past security, and will ponder eliminating availability of full water bottles, instead encouraging concessionaires to sell re-usable cups or bottles.
These are not a new ideas, per se. Since reading an item on Athletic-Minded Traveler in January, I've been toting my empty water bottle -- and an empty travel coffee mug -- through security on my airport-based trips. Plenty of other sites, such as SmarterTravel.com and Business Hacks, had advised similar tactics before that.
These are the first few airports I have seen taking steps to acknowledge the practice, though. The challenge until now, especially for travelers making tight connections, has been locating water fountains at which a traveler can refill a bottle. More visibility in the form of signs -- or even a few more fountains -- will be the third leg of the stool: Convenience for the traveler.
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