Goodbye Single Use Plastics, hello sustainable alternatives!

We’ve committed to remove and reduce Single Use Plastics (SUP) on our ships to find more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. It’s fantastic to be able to tell you we’ve already had a number of quick wins in switching out some of our SUPs this year including:

• Replacing our cotton buds with paper stem versions
• Introducing biodegradable straws – only offering these when requested
• Ensuring we only use wooden toothpicks and stirrers and retail bags made of paper.
• Removing the plastic from our sail away flags
• Stopping the use of balloons on board

And it doesn’t end there…

One of our more urgent challenges has been making sure plastic items don’t enter our food waste which could contaminate the sea. This has been quite a challenge when you consider the items that can be missed when sorting food waste, such as the corners of sauce sachets or bits of cling film in food preparation areas.

As a result we’ve set up a task force to not only ensure this doesn’t happen but reduce the threat in the first place by removing single use plastics from our food and beverage areas.

Our ship’s company have already been doing a great job in finding short-term ways to avoid using SUPs in Guest facing areas. Over the coming weeks, we’re making lots of changes to the items we offer on board. This will include:

• Replacing many of the current SUP containers for jams, spreads, sauces, yoghurts etc. with alternatives such as small glass pots.
• Reducing the use of cling film and introducing a blue tinted film that’s specially made for Carnival UK and much easier to spot – Queen Elizabeth is even trialing the removal of cling film altogether.
• We’re also reviewing how we provide cabin toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser to reduce the amount of bottles we throw away every week.

Packing it in with packaging…

Another big challenge, not just for us but for the industry, our sister brands and with the suppliers we use, is the amount of general packaging waste.

Although it’s a difficult problem we’re currently putting in longer term plans to tackle this. This ranges from how we package fruit and vegetables, the shrink wrap used on our pallets, to the plastic water bottles we use on board. We’re also focusing on replacing items that are the most visible to Guests and are more at risk of falling overboard or ending up in general waste.

It’s not just our fleet that are making a conscious effort, we have lots of activity happening shore side too – and we’ll be making a big announcement this week, so watch this space!

Don’t forget to share your Bright Ideas

Becoming a sustainable business is everyone’s responsibility so please make sure you share any Bright Ideas on reducing or replacing SUPs on board or in Carnival house through our HESS feedback stations.