Airports are one of the biggest sources of single-use plastic items. When you travel it can be convenient to use disposable plasticware, straws, and water bottles – but what is it doing to our environment?
Not to mention the enormous amount of garbage created from snack wrappers, fast food meal containers, and plastic cups.
YIKES!
Some airports recognize how detrimental this is to the environment and are doing their part to put a stop to it. We can all help reduce waste by traveling with a reusable water bottle and, of course, a GOpure Pod!
GOpure wants to make your travels a little bit easier and ensure access to healthy hydration with our convenient, portable water purifiers.
Airport Bans Plastic Water Bottles
Earlier this year the San Francisco Airport became one of the first airports to put a ban on plastic water bottles. You can no longer purchase a plastic water bottle at the airport, however, there are over 100 refill stations available to fill up your reusable water bottle. Other airports like Seattle have already banned the use of plastic straws and Alaskan airlines are doing their part to help too.
#FillBeforeYouFly
#FillBeforeYouFly is an initiative started by Alaskan Airlines to reduce the use of disposable plastic water bottles. The airline partnered with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation and for every passenger who brings a pre-filled water bottle on their flight and posts it to social media with the hashtag #FillBeforeYouFly, the foundation will plant a tree. Their goal is to plant 1 million trees on the West Coast, restore habitats for local wildlife, and reduce pollution. Alaska Airlines, Diana Birkett Rakow, VP of external relations, says, “If just 10% of us flying Alaska bring our own prefilled water bottles when we fly, it would save over 700,000 plastic water bottles and 4 million plastic cups per year. That’s a big lift.”
Plastic-Free Travel
Can You Bring A Reusable Water Bottle Through A TSA Checkpoint?
TSA doesn’t allow you to bring a filled water bottle through the checkpoint but they do recommend that you bring your own empty reusable water bottle and fill it up once you are through security. Filling up your water bottle isn’t just good for the environment, it’s good for your wallet too!
Bottled water at $4 or more is obscene, especially considering the water inside is likely to contain toxins and micro-plastics. Not only does using a personal water bottle save money at the airport, it also allows you to avoid buying bottled water during the rest of your trip too. Some airlines will fill up your reusable cup or water bottle with drinks that are served during the flight in a normal disposable cup. However, policy varies by airline so you may need to check with the flight attendant.
Here’s 6 Safe Reusable Water Bottle Options we recommend.
How to Find Refill Stations
It’s not just airports that are helping this initiative, others are helping out too. There are now apps with online maps that show you all of the places near you with refill stations. The findtap app has been acknowledged by Forbes and CNN and is trying to make a real change to reduce the amount of single-use plastics. Other apps like RefillMyBottle are doing the same thing outside of the United States. RefillMyBottle is based out of Bali and also has an online map of refill stations surrounding the area.
Is the Water Safe to Drink?
If you’ve been paying attention you might be thinking, “How can I be refilling my water bottle safely, when most tap water is contaminated!” Recently we published an article discussing the findings of the safety of our tap water from the Environmental Working Group. With the GOpure Pod, you do not have to be part of the ten million Americans drinking contaminated tap water. When you pack your reusable water bottle, be sure to put your GOpure Pod inside it!
There are many contaminants found in most tap water including lead, fluoride, and chlorine.
The GOpure Pod removes 97% of chlorine, nitrate, nitrite, and fluoride from your water. Our Pod is also designed to remove metals from your water and will remove 99% of lead, copper, and arsenic. The Pod also has antibacterial properties and will remove 99.97% of E.coli bacteria within 90 minutes.
How to Travel With Your GOpure Pod
- Pack an empty water bottle with your GOpure Pod inside, it’s TSA approved.
- After you get through airport security find a refill station and fill up. Your GOpure Pod will start working right away to make your water safe to drink.
- When using a refill station remember not all are fitted with filters so having a GOpure Pod with you becomes essential. Even if the water is filtered there is no way of knowing how effective or when the filter was last changed, so having a Pod in your water vessel ensures the water is purified, especially when refilling on the airplane.
- When you reach your destination you can fill up at your hotel and everywhere else you go, provided its potable water. The GOpure Pod as the power to purify up to 264 gallons of water, which is equivalent to 2,000 refills of a standard size water bottle.
- Make it a habit to make a difference. Bring your water bottle with your GOpure Pod inside it everywhere you go so that you can stay hydrated, your water can stay clean, and the earth can stay healthy.
