The Strange Afterlife of Banned TSA Items

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The strange afterlife of banned TSA items

By Andrea Sachs January 22

To the traveler forced to surrender hiscricket bat at an airport security checkpoint: I have located your valuable sports gear. Ifound it inside a state government office building in Pennsylvania, languishing on ashelf between a gardening trowel and a pipe wrench.

If you want it back, follow these simple instructions. Head to the state surplusdistribution center in Harrisburg between 8 a.m. and p.m. during the workweek.

!ring "#$, cash only. The wooden club is now yours again. %ust remember to check itne&t time around, or it will end up in T'()s paws again.

*e all know what happens when a passenger attempts to carry a banned item throughsecurity: That person advances to the boarding gate while the prohibited ob+ect stays behind. !ut the flier isn)t the only one anticipating a +ourney the unwelcome articlealso has an odyssey in its future, with a mystery final destination. -epending oncertain variables, it could end up in a ha /mat can, or with law enforcement officers, orin the arms of a new owner.

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!ut I am +umping ahead. *e must start at the beginning, in the airport screening area.

The T'( official will take you now.

0emories of carry/on/the/kitchen/sink travel are starting to fade. In a gentler time, you could bring items into the cabin that sloshed and sliced and thwacked balls intodeep left field. !ut that carefree era of flying ended about two months after the 122#terrorist attacks, when the federal government created the Transportation 'ecurity (dministration.

3ver the years, travelers have learned proper screening eti4uette. *e can rattle off the/#/# rule like our (!5s. *e slip off our shoes without stumbling. However, every so

often, we get la y. *e overlook a bottle of water in our tote bag or a 'wiss (rmy knifein our doppler kit.

6ou hear, 73ops, I forgot) a lot, said -aniel -erner, a T'( officer.

The forbidden materials fall into several categories, and the label it earns determinesthe ne&t step in the process. !everages, for e&ample, are tossed into a garbagereceptacle. The officers hand over all guns and illegal substances to the local police.They might also alert the cops if the item 9 and its owner 9 flout a state or local law,such as possessing brass knuckles or billy clubs in ew 6ork 5ity. The remainingob+ects, meanwhile, await their fate, which rolls up on wheels.

3n a recent 0onday morning near ew %ersey)s ewark airport, Igor 0arkasyan set

an empty blue tub and a cardboard bo& on a trolley and loaded the rig into a black';/hour period at the screening areas. (t ewark, oneof the largest facilities in the country, the ?property custodian visits #2 checkpoints inthree terminals, dedicating several hours to the collection. The officer might gather#22 to #$2 pounds on a typical day. The weight doubles over the holidays.

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Bullet belts, or any item that replicates a gun or ammunition, is prohibited in carry-on luggage.(Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

0arkasyan, who resembles *allace 'hawn and sounds like !oris, started the day)stour of duty in the busiest section of the airport, ;nited)s hub in Terminal 5. Heparked his cart near the checkpoint, unlocked a metal cabinet and pulled out a

container filled with grooming and cleaning products, such as shaving cream,hairspray and a giant can of @ysol. He dumped the flammable items in one bin and thenon/fiery substances A

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!ead T"# o$$icer %gor &ar'asyan arranges bo es o$ prohibited items collected at )e*ar'!iberty %nternational #irport in )e*ar', ).+. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

The bin resembled a kitchen drawer messy with steak knives, cake cutters,screwdrivers, scissors, corkscrews and a railroad spike. 0arkasyan tossed the metal +umble into an empty bo&, creating a loud racket that sounded like the Tin 0an falling

out of bed.

In addition to the obviously unacceptable items, the T'( also rules out ob+ects thatappear benign but harbor a dark streak. Dor e&ample, air pumps and barbells can beused as bludgeoning instruments wiry contraptions that evoke bombs and weapon/shaped novelty items, such as water pistols and iPhone cases with brass knucklehandles, could create hysteria.

*e don)t allow replicas because they could cause a panic, said @isa Darbstein, anagency spokesperson.

0arkasyan tossed a plastic bow and a toy gun longer than a child)s arm into thee&panding stash.

!efore pushing off to the ne&t checkpoint, he had one more load to gather: lost andfound.

People are forgetful, especially when +uggling multiple bags and scrambling for their

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flight. They leave behind all sorts of odds and ends, including dentures, a single shoeand sleeping aids. The most common orphans are cellphones, laptops, keys, I-s and belts.

Pin' brass 'nuc'les that double as a cellphone case. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

*e have so many belts, we could give away a belt as a token of appreciation, said3felia Eui , the agency)s customer support manager. ?(nd glasses, glasses, glasses,glasses.

3fficers inventory every discovery, even the tiniest hairpin.

The simplest thing could mean the world to the passenger, Eui said.

The morning)s list of finds demonstrated this position: a black Hugo !oss belt, a silvertiara, glasses with a missing lens, a dog license and a smartphone that started to ring.

6our customer lost his phone, Eui e&plained to the voice on the other end, callingfrom Israel. ?*hen he picks up his rental, let him know that he left it at T'( security.Thank you. 'halom.

(fter three checkpoints, 0arkasyan)s pace slowed as he strained against the growingpoundage on the cart. He performed an unofficial weigh/in, estimating about >2

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pounds of aerosols, $2 pounds of li4uids and F2 pounds of ?prohibs.

He had seven more pick/ups to go.

T'( wants to clear up a few misunderstandings.

Dirst, the agency does not ?confiscate banned goods the passenger ?surrendersthem. 'econd, giving up the goods isn)t the only option. Dor instance, you can return tothe airline)s ticketing counter and check them, run them back to your car, or handthem off to a friend who is not traveling. 'ome airports also have a mail service so that you can be reunited with your belongings at home. *hen the passenger doesn)t havethe time or willpower to do any of the above, however, the only choice is to relin4uishthe itema non grata.

(nother monster misconception: 0any people assume that the officers keep the items.

ot true.

The li4uid and aerosol substances are destroyed, for instance. (t ewark, they arestored in a small shed surrounded by tall reeds and sparse trees. Inside, several bluecanisters hold the materials, which the employee separates by type Ae&plosive,flammable gas, etc.B. ( contractor eventually hauls it away.

(fter completing his rounds at the airport, I followed 0arkasyan to the disposalstation. He barely glanced down as he chucked the stuff. I silently shed a tear for three bottles of Eon !arcelG rum that would never see a cocktail glass or summer sunset.

T"# o$$icer %gor &ar'asyan opens a shed storing ha ardous *aste on Port #uthority propertynear )e*ar' !%berty %nternational #irport. "urrendered li uid and aerosol substances are

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destroyed. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

The remaining goods in his car continued onward, to the agency)s office ad+acent to theCeane ;niversity campus. The staff fills empty bo&es with $2 pounds of prohibs andstacks them on shelves and any available floor space. @arger, longer items, such as golfclubs and bats, are arrayed like a bou4uet of thick stems.

=very three or four months, a truck carts off the loads and heads west to Harrisburg.@ost items valued at less than "$22 are also in the mi&. AThe agency holds them for 2days before shipping them out.B

The #8/wheeler was scheduled to arrive the following day. I regarded the assortedsealed cartons and suddenly heard a siren)s voice calling out, ?3pen me. I obliged.

Darbstein cut open a taped bo& marked #1 18. ?It)s a sickle, she e&claimed, grabbing

the crescent/shape tool from the top layer. ?I have to take a picture of this

ADarbstein contributes photos to the agency)s Twitter and Instagram accounts. 'omehighlights include a green comb with a concealed blade and a gun sewn into a teddy bear.B

I fished out a Hobbit letter opener still in its packaging, a half/do en @eathermans, a bag of dirty nails and a cleaver. Darbstein grabbed the hatchet for a portrait.

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# sic'le, clea er and billy club didn t pass muster at T"# security chec'points at the )e*ar'!iberty %nternational #irport. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

*hen I unearthed a pillbo& in the form of a replica gun cylinder, instinct told me tounscrew the top and bottom sections. I noticed a dusting of herb/green flakes.

I found pot I declared with pride.

( T'( officer sniffed a confirmation.

'everal ma+or airports and many minor ones across the ortheast send theirabandoned property to the 'tate 'urplus -istribution 5enter, which resides in aresidential area of Harrisburg. The truck that picked up 1,JF$ pounds of prohibs and#,1F$ pounds of unclaimed goods from ewark on %an. K would later collect T'( waresfrom %DC and @aLuardia. 'maller facilities mail a bo& or two to the store every fewmonths. A*ashington/ area airports funnel their items to the *ytheville 'urplus'tore -istribution 5enter, in southwest

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physical harm, such as the lipstick with the hidden knife and blades that fold up into acredit card shape. Handcuffs 9 fu y or metal 9 don)t make the cut, either.

If it)s a comb, it needs to be a comb, said Troy Thompson, spokesman for thePennsylvania -epartment of Leneral 'ervices. ?If it)s a lipstick, it needs to be alipstick.

'ome of the inventory goes online and is sold in bulk 9 a $2/pound mi&ed bo& ofknives, for e&ample, or designer purses. The rest goes downstairs to the thrift storethat also sells used government office supplies, such as desks, mugs and !lack!erry carchargers.

Thompson says the shop)s prices are about $2 to K$ percent lower than listings one!ay or at standard retail stores. To prove his point, he showed me a "$2 vise/grip pipe wrench that goes for "J2 at @owe)s. -espite the li4uidation prices, the state has earned"#.$ million since the program began in 122>. A(ll proceeds go to the commonwealth.3h snap, %ersey.B

The five/year employee still shakes his head in disbelief at the strangeness of the piecesand laments the heartbreaking losses.

It always ama es me at how many people travel with kitchen items 9 rolling pins,frying pans, he said. ?3ne of the items that always makes me sad to see are the wedding cake knives, because of the sentimental value.

The most recent crop was short on culinary tools and newlywed souvenirs. I found anunused #1/piece dinner/knife set, a package with three steak knives and a hippo/shapecheese knife. Total tally: "F.

(t the front of the shop, a glass case contained higher/end knives. I counted #8 basic'wiss (rmy knives for "$ each, plus two rows of delu&e versions of the cardinal/redtool A"#$ or "12, depending on the number of e&trasB.

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Kni es that *ere collected at T"# chec'point screenings at )e*ar' !iberty %nternational#irport, en route to the surplus supply store. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

Dor the hunting knives, I asked %eremy, a staffer with outdoors e&perience, forassistance. He told me that the five/inch Tomahawk blade with the scorpion image onthe handle would please any deer/hunting mate. The five/inch Eemington, meanwhile,could do some damage to a bear. (nd if I were to buy %eremy a thank/you gift for hishelpful services, I would spring for the ?0ade in Pakistan knife with a wood handle, worn leather case and price tag of "$.

Dor myself, oh, I had so many choices. 'now globes from 65, Lermany, @ondon andthe @and of @aughing Teddy !ears. 'ouvenir baseball bats for the 6ankees, 0ets and

Eed 'o&. 'ticks and rods used for a variety of activities: hockey, lacrosse, golf, billiards,curtain/hanging. Hand tools for "1 apiece. 'cissors for three for a dollar.

I was rummaging through "# wine openers when an employee shouted, ?6ou)ve got $>minutes. I was hoisting a red power drill when she hollered, ?Ten minutes. I wastrying on a bullet/beda led belt when she informed me that I had only three minutesleft.

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I left the store right at closing time, hearing the door lock behind me. *alking downthe long hallway to the e&it, I gripped the manila envelope filled with my T'(purchases: si& knives and a hammer, plus a government invoice for "1#.12.

TSA Tips

"*iss army 'ni es at the surplus supply store. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

o traveler wants to lose his or her stuff, especially to the T'(. To safeguard your belongings at airport checkpoints, simply follow these tips and guidelines, then carryon.

0 T'( has an online tool and app called ?*hen I Dly, 5an I !ring . . .M The featurecovers more than ,$22 items, including bleach AnoB, peanut butter AspecialinstructionsB and scissors Ayes, if the blades are shorter than four inches longB. If youhave any doubts, type in the specific item and wait for the results.

0 0any items prohibited in carry/on bags are permitted in checked luggage. Dorfirearms and ammunition, consult with the agency on proper packing protocol. (lso be

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aware of state and local laws that ban certain weapons and personal protectiondevices. 6ou can be arrested at the airport for possessing such illegal materials.

0 If the officer prohibits your item, remember that surrendering it isn)t your onlyoption. 6ou can mail it back home Asome airports have on/site postal facilitiesB, hand itoff to a non/traveling friend, stick it in your car or send it in a checked bag.

0 5ondense your items into one or two trays. Place all small and valuable items in yourcarry/on bag avoid using multiple bowls. 6ou can hold your cash or wallet in yourhand inside the screening machine. (nd keep your +ewelry on. If a piece sets off thealarm, the officer can wand you.

0 (fter the screening, first secure your laptop, then put on your shoes.

0 Tape a business card or contact info on all gadgets and computers. (ttach name tags

to all bags. This way, T'( can 4uickly track you down and return the lost item.

0 If you reali e that you)re missing something, contact T'()s lost/and/found office atthe airport. The agency)s *eb site has a list of airport phone numbers. (fter you claimthe item, an employee will set it aside for pick/up or shipping. APostage will be paid by you.B

0 If you had to relin4uish an item and miss it terribly, check government/auction *ebsites or visit a state surplus store that sells T'( goods. Dor e&ample, try Lov-eals.com,the 'tate 'urplus -istribution 5enter in Harrisburg or the *ytheville 'urplus

'tore -istribution 5enter in southwest

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the #ileage. She is all 'ac ed for the oon or $orth *orea"whichever o'ens &rst.