Those plastic bins you put your laptop, shoes, wallet, keys and phone in at the airport are money grubbers.

Travelers across the country left close to $1 million, most of it in change, sitting in the bottom of bins at airport security checkpoints last year, according to Transportation Security Administration officials.

Newark Liberty Airport ranked fifth in the nation with $41,026 left behind.

JFK airport came in first in the nation with $72,392 left in the bin, followed closely by Los Angeles at $71,748, TSA officials said in a release. Passengers left $17,906 behind at LaGuardia airport checkpoints.

Philadelphia Airport did not make the top ten airports for the highest amounts of orphan cash. The TSA reports annually to Congress how much money was left at checkpoints. Officials said the agency makes every effort to return the money to passengers. The funds are deposited into a special account and documented.

Record passenger volume at the Port Authority’s metro area airports in 2018 and continuing in to 2019 also may be a factor. TSA officials expect a busy travel season this summer.

Typically, the forgotten cash is loose change that travelers remove from their pockets and place in bins at checkpoints before security screening, officials said. Occasionally, travelers leave a wallet or in some cases, an envelope of money behind.

Officials blame distractions, especially if travelers are using several bins and have to take a laptop computer out of a case or backpack. Flyers can lose track of change at the bottom of a bin in the rush to put their shoes on, return laptops to bags and catch their flights. They also may be distracted by advertisements in the bins, which may make change hard to see, officials said.

How can travelers avoid giving the TSA an unexpected payday? TSA officials suggested that travelers remove items from their pockets and place them in their carry-on bags, so they won’t be left behind.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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