Anamnesty binoramnesty box is a receptacle into which items can be placed without incurring consequences related to those items. Amnesty bins have been used for various items, including drugs, weapons, fruit, invasive species, and animals. A version of an amnesty bin is also used at Amazon warehouses for damaged items.
InEurope, drug-related deaths at music festivals present a public health concern.[1] Amnesty bins for drugs at festivals have been proposed as a method of harm reduction;[2] a study in Ireland found that 75% of participants said they would use amnesty bins for drugs if they were part of a drug checking system that would provide alerts about dangerous drugs in circulation.[3] One London dance venue required patrons to place any illegal drugs they possessed into an amnesty bin as of 1999[update]. Items placed into the bin in 1998 and 1999 were analyzed in a 2001 study of illicit drug consumption, in order to determine which street drugs were currently available.[4]
To prevent certain pests and diseases from entering areas within the country, amnesty bins are used in Australia as part of the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone (FFEZ). Travelers to Melbourne from outside the FFEZ are asked to place any fruit they are carrying into an amnesty bin in the airport.[5]
An additional amnesty box for cannabis is located at Aspen/Pitkin County Airport. Most flights from the airport land at Denver International Airport, where cannabis is banned. Departing travelers at Aspen/Pitkin with cannabis are instructed to either return it to their vehicles or place it in the bin.[10]
A small ball python, about the size of the one found in a Honolulu amnesty bin
At airports in Hawaii, amnesty bins are provided for agricultural reasons, intended to prevent the introduction of invasive plants and animals. Arriving passengers, who have already filled out agricultural declaration forms, can place prohibited items in the bins without risking consequences. According to the acting manager of the Plant Quarantine Branch at the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, 60 to 70 pounds (27 to 32 kg) of material are placed in the bins at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu every few days; pest-free plant material can be used as animal feed for confiscated animals at the Department of Agriculture facilities, while contaminated material is destroyed.[11] In 2002, a foot-long ball python was found in one of the airport's amnesty bins.[12] The snake was believed to have been placed into the bin inside an airsickness bag, and subsequently escaped from the bag, as a torn bag was also found in the bin. It was the first animal ever found in an amnesty bin in the Oʻahu airport.[12]
Fulfillment centers belonging to Amazon use amnesty bins as part of their process. Robotic stowers of incoming items place damaged or unscannable items into amnesty bins rather than bins for sorted items, thereby identifying them as problems to be solved later by a human.[16] For outgoing items, human workers place damaged or unscannable items into amnesty bins for the same reason;[17] robotic pickers for outbound items do the same.[18]
