Passengers' discards being put to good use.

Byline: Jack Moran The Register-Guard

Charley Harvey was happy to dig through trash bags and grab every bottle of shampoo and shaving cream he could find Tuesday morning at the Eugene Airport.

But he took a pass on the can of Easy Cheese, a mini bottle of brandy and a tube of something called Vampire's Blood. It wasn't that he figured that those items were worthless. They just weren't what he was looking for during his trip to the airport's administrative office.

"Oh, the things people bring on planes," said Harvey, assistant executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, smiling and shaking his head while holding a container of lavender body butter.

Actually, none of the stuff Harvey collected from trash bags ever made it onto an airliner. Travelers preparing to board flights tossed it all into airport trash bins, in compliance with new rules prohibiting most liquids, lotions and gels in carry-on luggage.

The federal Transportation Security Administration instituted the ban last week after investigators in London said they uncovered a plot to blow up several U.S.-bound jets with liquid explosives.

As the ban took hold, mounds of discarded containers of liquids, lotions and gels piled up at airports around the country.

Officials at the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County spotted a salvage opportunity. They figured that the discarded items at the Eugene Airport were a way to provide homeless people with perfectly good products. Beginning Tuesday, they began collecting the banned goods for distribution at their First Place Family Center in Eugene.

"We're always looking for shampoo, toothpaste and other toiletries to help homeless families," Harvey said. "It usually takes us a week or two to get this much (donated by the public). Hopefully, it's an ongoing windfall."

Harvey said a St. Vincent de Paul accountant thought up the idea of turning trash into treasure while watching television footage of airline passengers emptying their overnight bags before boarding flights.

She shared the plan with higher-ups at the social service agency, who in turn contacted city officials.

Always interested in strategies for reducing waste, Eugene officials were immediately open to the idea, said Brad Black, the airport's facilities and development manager. The airport is a city-operated facility.

"It doesn't make sense to just throw this stuff in a Dumpster," Black said. "Especially when there is a need in the community for these items."

Black obtained approval from federal officials before allowing St. Vincent de Paul to begin sorting through the trash bags of banned items.

TSA spokeswoman Jennifer Peppin said her agency didn't have a problem with that because toiletries taken by the social service agency were never seized by authorities. Passengers voluntarily tossed those items into city-owned bins situated outside official checkpoints.

Banned items discovered by screeners are required to be confiscated and disposed of by a contractor hired to do that work, Peppin said.

People boarding flights in Eugene and elsewhere in the United States should expect the tough security measures to remain in place, she said.

"There is no indication that there will be any changes anytime soon," Peppin said.

Black said that while he has seen a handful of passengers at the Eugene Airport fuming over the new rules, most have been understanding.

"By and large, people recognize this is happening for a good reason," Black said.

And they should know that more than likely, their discarded shampoo, hair spray and aftershave will be put to good use.

"A lot of people we serve can't afford to buy these sorts of things," Harvey said. "This stuff is exactly what they need."

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