Passengers routed through the second-largest city in the US take note: you will not be able to buy water in a throwaway bottle while you are there.

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA; www.lawa.org) said its ban on the products announced two years ago came into effect on 1 July 2023 after a grace period allowed vendors at its LAX and Van Nuys sites to deplete any remaining stock and renegotiate supply contracts. Single-use plastic water bottles are no longer available at either airport.

In anticipation of the ban, LAWA said ti worked with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to install additional hydration stations throughout the terminals at LAX, the city’s main airport, “to provide passengers with convenient access to drinking water.” Passengers can bring their own bottle or they can purchase reusable containers at the airports. 

Related: California law requires all packaging to be recyclable or compostable in 10 years

In 2022, LAX was the world’s sixth-largest passenger airport and served nearly 66 mn travellers, according to industry group Airports Council International (ACI, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; https://aci.aero).

Often a leader in US environmental policy, the state of California set the tone for more eco-friendly air travel in 2019, with San Francisco airport becoming the first in the world to prohibit single-use plastic bottles. Officials there extended the ban to all beverages in plastics or aseptic paper packaging in 2021.

Airlines recently expressed a willingness to reduce their reliance on SUP products and make cabins more sustainable, according to a deal with the United Nations’ Environment Programme (UNEP) signed last month.