Originally Posted by
catocony
As I have seen TSA clerks pull unopened bottles of water and soda out of trash cans a couple of times, you are both correct and wrong. They must be disposed of - in a trash can. TSA clerks can then pull them out and do what they want to.
I truly believe that TSA's SOP's say that confiscated items can't be taken for personal use. I also believe that TSA's SOP's are routinely ignored by some TSA screeners.