Carnival Corporation has completed the installation of nearly 600 food waste biodigesters across its fleet.
The initiative is in support of its ongoing food waste management and reduction efforts as part of its overall commitment to environmental compliance.
The technology has been added to ships from the company’s nine cruise line brands – Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
The biodigester technology uses a natural aerobic digestion process inside each machine to efficiently break down food waste utilizing a mix of beneficial microorganisms.
This enables the systems to process anything that can be consumed by a human.
Able to perform automated digestion 24 hours per day, the biodigesters are strategically placed in key areas of the ship where food is processed.
Additionally, the machines capture non-food items or other materials accidentally mixed with food waste, providing an additional layer of protection for environmental compliance on each ship.
Since first piloting the technology in 2019, Carnival Corporation and its nine global cruise line brands have continued to expand the use of these systems across their fleets.
As Carnival Corporation’s entire fleet returns to operations this year, its full lineup of brands will continue to see benefits from improved food waste management as additional biodigesters come online.
The fleetwide biodigester installation supports Carnival Corporation’s aggressive food waste management objectives, as part of its 2030 sustainability goals.
These goals support the company’s circular economy focus area by including a commitment to achieve a 30% reduction in unit food waste by 2022 and a 50% reduction in unit food waste by 2030, as outlined in the company’s latest sustainability report.
These new goals build on the company’s latest achievement of reducing food waste per person by over 20% at the end of 2021, which doubled its original goal of reaching a 10% reduction in food waste by the end of last year, relative to a 2019 baseline.
“The significant investment in this technology goes hand in hand with our highest responsibility and top priority at Carnival Corporation, which is compliance, environmental protection and the health, safety and well-being of our guests, the people in the communities we visit and serve, and our shipboard and shoreside personnel,” said Bill Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corporation.
“We have made great strides in our circular economy focus area and the rollout of nearly 600 biodigesters represents another important milestone for our ongoing efforts to further minimize our impact on the oceans we sail and the communities we visit while supporting overall food waste management efforts and environmental compliance onboard our ships.”
The company and its brands have also committed to reducing carbon emission intensity by 40% by 2030 and have aspirations to achieve net carbon-neutral ship operations, supporting its efforts to establish a path to zero-emission cruising by 2050.
More information on the company’s sustainability efforts is available at www.CarnivalSustainability.com.
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