The Eugene, Oregon SVDP is making good use of materials that were not permitted in airplanes and therefore discarded at the sescurity checkpoints. 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.
advertisement
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.”
Tags: Anti-poverty strategies
