Security "taking" discarded products

[jiminy14]

Saw a report on the Channel 6 news station in Philly about the new carry-on restrictions. They showed airport personnel carrying large trash bags and asking people to discard their products in them. Near the end of the report they showed two female TSA agents rooting through the bags and taking out the "good stuff". The women's faces were distorted but they could definitely be identified by their hairstyles and physiques. The reporter stated that he questioned them about what they were doing and they responded that they were just taking the "good stuff" because otherwise it was going in the trash.
Philly airport already has a less than perfect reputation. I can't see how this is going to help.

 

[magicmouse2]

Thats disgusting!! they are taking our stuff because it could potentially contain explosives !!!!!!!!!

 

[DisMN]

Wellllllllllll I guess I'd rather have someone ...anyone use the stuff than have it thrown in the garbage. What a waste of money.......IMHO shamefull if someone doesn't try to use/donate/recycle the items that were tossed.

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[magicmouse2]

If the items were found to be safe, I say they should give it to a homeless shelter. The goods were confiscated due to potentially including explosives. Not something I would want to rummage through unless experts declared it safe.

 

[jiminy14]

I agree that the items should be donated to a shelter if they are safe and unused. These women were taking the products for their own use. You could see them in the video picking out items and looking them over. Even the reporter seemed to have a problem with what they were doing.

 

[DisMN]

But the items in question were bound for the garbage bins, right? I guess I don't begrudge them taking stuff for their own use......although of course they were taking a teensy risk not knowing the safety of the items.

This isn't an area I would judge anyone harshly for, sorry. It's just too wasteful to to think about the stuff going to the landfill. I take it you're ok with that? If needing to choose one or the other, the landfill or to the homes of these workers, you'd say the landfill?


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[bicker]

Regarding "donating" confiscated goods to charities: Sorting "good" from "bad", if part of anyone's job, would be prohibitively expensive, due to the safety precautions that would be necessary. That's an impractical suggestion, unfortunately.

Regarding people picking out the "good" stuff from the discards, the courts have declared that rooting through garbage is perfectly legal.

 

[safetymom]

It may have been ok, but that is tacky!!!! Here everyone is upset but were caught off guard about all this and here are people rooting through getting some goodies for themselves. When they saw the TV cameras approaching they should have stopped.

 

[bicker]

Yes, that's true. There is a distinct lack of healthy shame in our society, these days. However, I wouldn't really come down so hard on them: At least what they were doing was only tacky. Lots of folks in our society feel little shame even for actual transgressions.

 

[kaytieeldr]

But the items in question were bound for the garbage bins, right? I guess I don't begrudge them taking stuff for their own use......although of course they were taking a teensy risk not knowing the safety of the items.

This isn't an area I would judge anyone harshly for, sorry. It's just too wasteful to to think about the stuff going to the landfill. I take it you're ok with that? If needing to choose one or the other, the landfill or to the homes of these workers, you'd say the landfill?


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A better solution might be to set up tables convenient to arriving passengers - who can then 'shop' free to replace the items they had to discard before they got through Security at their departure airports...

 

[bicker]

And if someone put some poison in one of the bottles of perfume, who do you think gets blamed?

No, sorry: That's definitely not a better solution. People who root through garbage can be held to account for their decision to do so, and cannot blame others for their misfortune. Anything that anyone officially sets up must be set up with the utmost of care to ensure safety of the items being offered. No amount of exculpatory clauses will make one bit of difference.

 

[CleveRocks]

A better solution might be to set up tables convenient to arriving passengers - who can then 'shop' free to replace the items they had to discard before they got through Security at their departure airports...

That would be nice, but then I can just see the lawsuits. Airports and TSA will be sued because they negligently gave toothpaste to so-and-so but it caused so-and-so some damages, etc .... Yuk. Not gonna happen, unfortunately ....

 

[Hannathy]

I have to agree with the others they can't give it to anyone in our sue happy society- how sad.

I have no problem with them taking it, why not? If someone leaves extra water or soda in their room at check out are you saying that housekeeping shouldn't take it ? I would rather see that instead of it just getting thrown out.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Who would care? If you can no longer use the item due to airport restrictions, why not let someone else use them? For the time being, I think it's okay.

However, I would like to see any of these types of things (maybe have open water bottles in one container and toiletries in another and have the toiletries sent to the nearest homeless shelter or orphanage. Then the respective goods have a meaningful purpose.

Also, image their thought when someone had an extra bottle of Frederick Ferekki shampoo but put Perk in it?

 

[JudicialTyranny]

Next time I fly, I'm going to put Nair in an expensive shampoo bottle. Let's see who picks that one.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Do you think some of the high end toiletry products would end up on eBay?

1/2 to full bottles of ????? being auctioned off?

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see these items as being tossed in the trash but rather being confiscated by TSA. That being the case, the argument could be made that it's evidence and these agents are essentially rummaging through the evidence. If a police officer did that with the evidence in a murder investigation, they'd be out of a job and possibly in jail.

The items are being prohibited because of a potential danger, not for TSA employee freebies.

Besides, now a potential terrorist could target TSA agents. Put some harmful chemicals in the items that would be tossed before the flight, and count on the agents to rummage through the pile for stuff to use on their own. How difficult would it be to add a poison to something like toothpaste??

 

[CarolA]

Saw a report on the Channel 6 news station in Philly about the new carry-on restrictions. They showed airport personnel carrying large trash bags and asking people to discard their products in them. Near the end of the report they showed two female TSA agents rooting through the bags and taking out the "good stuff". The women's faces were distorted but they could definitely be identified by their hairstyles and physiques. The reporter stated that he questioned them about what they were doing and they responded that they were just taking the "good stuff" because otherwise it was going in the trash.
Philly airport already has a less than perfect reputation. I can't see how this is going to help.

Yesterday when somenone posted the questions about what were they doing with the stuff I nearly responded "TSA agents won't buy shampoos for years" but thought that was TACKY. Guess it was actually truthful.

 

[shellybaxter]

I don't think it is right for the TSA employees to be taking home the things they confiscated. If this were allowed whats to stop them from "confiscating" anything they want? I believe the TSA management would say that it was not okay for employees to take home the "good stuff"

 

[Laurajean1014]

I agree with Obi Wan; these items are being conviscated because of a potential problem. So why on earth would a person take what could be a lethal toxin placed in a Head and Shoulders bottle?