Anyone who's flown long-haul knows the drill. Dry mouth. Salty pretzels. Stale cabin air. You reach for water — probably in a plastic bottle.

Easy to grab. Easy to open. Easy to throw away.

But that's where the problem starts, The Independent reported. These bottles don't vanish just because you've landed. Millions pile up in trash heaps or drift out to sea, breaking down into tiny plastic bits that can end up in our lungs and blood cells.

British Airways is testing out a different approach. For a week, flights from London Heathrow to Miami, Boston, and Los Angeles are ditching plastic bottles in economy and premium economy. Instead, cabin crew hand out water in paper cups.

One passenger on FlyerTalk said, "There were no bottles of water they could give me as BA is trialing not offering any bottles of water for two weeks now." They added it felt "obviously a cost-saving exercise under the guise of saving the polar bears."

BA confirmed to The Independent that the trial runs from June 16 to 22. A spokesperson said, "This is a one-week trial on three routes as part of efforts to reduce plastic waste. The views of our customers are very important to us, and we'll be listening very carefully to their feedback."

Meanwhile, Club World and first-class folks still get bottled water. No changes there.

This isn't just about flights. Those little bottles add up to a giant mess. Picking products with less plastic keeps trash out of landfills. Community cleanups in places like Sri Lanka have hauled away thousands of pounds of plastic waste. Taxes on plastic bags cut down pollution in other places, too.

Water matters on long flights. Plastic bottles don't have to.

While there are many complaints, not everyone minds. A Reddit user wrote, "Good. Their excessive use of bottled water frustrated me no end. That said; they should now offer water either in cans or tetra packs."

Another chimed in, "To be honest, plastic bottles of water are a pain, they should just make it easier to fill up your bottle before you board and provide water fountains for people at the gate by forcing airports to invest."

What should America do to fight plastic pollution? Stricter regulations on companies 🏛️ Better recycling ♻️ More bans on single-use items 🚫 All of the above 💯 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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