San Francisco International Airport is banning the sale of single-use plastic water bottles. The San Francisco Chronicle reports Friday that the unprecedented move at one of the major airports in the country will take effect Aug. 20.

The new rule will apply to airport restaurants, cafes and vending machines. Travelers needing plain water will have to buy refillable aluminum or glass bottles if they don't bring their own. As a department of San Francisco's municipal government, the airport is following an ordinance approved in 2014 banning the sale of plastic water bottles on city-owned property.

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SFO spokesman Doug Yakel says the shift away from plastics is also part of a broader plan to slash net carbon emissions and energy use to zero and eliminate most landfill waste by 2021. (VOA)