This machine makes surrendering items at airport security a good thing

Frankfurt Airport has set up recycling banks for bottles relinquished at security checks, giving customers the additional option to send money to the charity of their choice.

Airport security has become ever tighter over the years, which is good for safety but can cause irritation for travelers. Nowadays customers can’t take bottles of liquid on board and are asked to relinquish them at security checks, which is annoying and also bad for the environment when they’re sent to landfill. In order to tackle this problem, Frankfurt Airport has set up recycling banks for those bottles, giving customers the additional option to send money to the charity of their choice.

It’s easy for passengers to forget all of the rules for what they can take on board and carrying liquid filled cans and bottles in suitcases and hand luggage is still a common occurrence. At Frankfurt, users can now simply place the offending items into the bottle return machines installed in Terminal 1. The bottles are later collected, emptied of their contents and then sold on to recycling companies. Rather than simply taking passengers’ belongings, the machines offer a monetary sum for each bottle deposit in the form of a donation to charity. At the machine, users can select to support the Worldwide Wildlife Fund, air-based humanitarian aid charity Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen, local food bank Frankfurter Tafel or Franziskustreff – a fund for homeless people in the city. According to airlinetrends.com, if the customer doesn’t make a choice, donations are automatically sent to the WWF.

The bottle return machines deal with the problem of collected plastics and metals at airport security checks, while also letting passengers know that the items they give up will help to do some good, rather than simply end up in the trash. Are there other ways to make airports a more friendly place?

Spotted by: Murray Orange