Every day, full-size bottles of toiletries like shampoo, sunscreen and hair gel wind up in the trash at airport security checkpoints because some passengers don't know about the TSA's 3-1-1 rule. But one airport in D.C. is getting those items to people in need.
Since the spring, Reagan National Airport has been collecting and donating unopened and lightly used toiletries as part of a pilot program called "Donate, Don't Discard."
“We started this in April, and we have already collected 2,300 items. We’ve diverted 1,160 pounds of waste from landfills … and that doesn't include what we're counting in August,” said Courtnie Gore, social impact specialist for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Employees with the airports authority sort through all of the toiletries one day a month.
News4 got a peak at the sorting process Tuesday and saw employees organizing dozens of bottles — many of them brand new — inside a warehouse steps away from the front doors of DCA.
“Just know that if you do lose something, you’re a little frustrated, just know it’s going to someone who really treasures it," Gore said.
In all, there were more than 600 items left behind at the TSA checkpoint since the beginning of August that were sorted for organizations like Northwest Community Food, a nonprofit in D.C. that helps individuals and families with fresh produce and hygiene items.
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“For staff and volunteers, it’s fun and exciting and it’s prideful to be able to provide these products because, to the extent we had toiletries before, they often came from the dollar store, and so we had a lower quality and we had a lower quantity. And so it’s wonderful to be able to provide these brand-name products and full-size products. They’re all brands that people really love and get excited about," said Kristina Filipovich with Northwest Community Food.
The airports authority said it plans to expand the program to Dulles International Airport.
