A ground-breaking environmental initiative has been initiated on three ships belonging to Carnival Cruise Line, marking another stride towards improved sustainability. The scheme, which is a collaborative effort with Bacardi and ecoSPIRITS, is focused on the introduction of closed-loop packaging technology at sea to reduce the reliance on single-use glass.
Carnival Cruise Line, in partnership with Bacardi and ecoSPIRITS, announced an inventive initiative on August 29, 2023. The initiative’s objective is to establish closed-loop packaging systems on Carnival ships on a trial basis.
Closed-loop or circular packaging is a sustainable approach where materials are constantly reused within a closed system, minimizing waste. Instead of being discarded after a single use, materials are gathered, processed, and reused, creating a continuous cycle that lessens the demand for new resources and reduces the environmental impact of packaging waste.
This joint venture brings Bacardi, a well-known alcoholic beverages company, and ecoSPIRITS, an organization specializing in circular economy technology, together to launch a closed-loop packaging system at sea.
The companies aim to carry out this program during a three-month trial on three ships – Carnival Celebration, Carnival Horizon, and Carnival Sunrise. The program’s objective is to assess the effectiveness of ecoSPIRITS’ reusable containers in serving rum to guests on Carnival ships. If successful, these containers could result in a 95% reduction in single-use packaging. The results will be evaluated after the trial period to gain real-world data about the program’s success.
The pilot program developed by Carnival includes the introduction of a new variant of EcoSPIRITS’ closed-loop glass packaging – the ecoTOTE™ 3.0SC Cruise Edition, specially designed for ship usage.
BACARDĺ Superior rum was selected for this trial due to its popularity across the Carnival fleet and its frequent use in various cocktails. Each ecoTOTE used is expected to substitute about four bottles of rum. These totes will then be cleaned and refilled approximately 100 times, establishing a self-sustaining, environmentally friendly process. This will result in a significant reduction in the use of glass bottles.
Moreover, for each ecoTOTE delivered, a donation will be made towards the removal of two pounds of glass, single-use plastics, and other human debris from the oceans.
Carnival Cruise Line has consistently shown its commitment to environmental protection through recycling. Every ship in the fleet has a recycling center for glass, paper, and plastic. In 2022, the company processed an impressive 11 million pounds of recyclable items and introduced bio-digesters across the fleet to decrease food waste.
In 2019, the cruise line announced that it would make significant environmental changes across the entire fleet. These changes included the introduction of glass and reusable plastic tumblers for beverages, and paper cups for hot to-go drinks. Shampoo and body wash distribution pumps were installed in staterooms, suites, and onboard spas to replace bottles. Drinking straws were largely phased out, and reusable stainless-steel stirrers were introduced instead of wooden coffee stirrers.
The company also made efforts to eliminate individually wrapped serving items used for condiments and sugar, replacing them with more eco-friendly alternatives.
Carnival Cruise Line’s past sustainability practices, coupled with innovative schemes like the Bacardi and ecoSPIRITS circular packaging pilot program, illustrate the company’s dedication to preserving the marine environment.
