Royal Caribbean Group says it is looking at waste management from start to finish
Cruise operator Royal Caribbean Group says it is building on its industry-leading waste management practices by introducing the next generation of technology to make its way to the high seas.
In a press statement, Royal Caribbean says that these tools, from waste-to-energy systems, food waste applications and an expanded network of green hubs are a result of its drive to deliver the best vacation experiences responsibly.
The cruise operator says that starting this year, on two of Royal Caribbean Group’s newest ships, will be the cruise industry’s first systems to turn solid waste directly into energy onboard.
Jason Liberty
“I am proud of Royal Caribbean Group’s drive to SEA the Future and be better tomorrow than we are today. Pioneering the first waste to energy system on a cruise ship builds on our commitment to remove waste from local landfills and deliver great vacation experiences, responsibly,” says Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group.
The shipping company says that the systems, Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP) and Micro Auto Gasification (MAG), debuting respectively on Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas and Silversea Cruises’ Silver Nova, will take waste on board and convert it into synthesis gas (syngas) that the ship can directly use as energy. Much like land-based waste-to-energy facilities, the result is repurposing waste in an efficient and sustainable way. An additional bioproduct of the system, biochar, can also be used as a soil nutrient, it says.
Royal Caribbean Group says it is also looking at waste management from start to finish. Including its plans to reduce food waste across the fleet by 50 pc by 2025. To do so, the cruise company is implementing several initiatives across its brands.
It is developing a proprietary platform to monitor food supply and accurately estimate how much food should be produced, prepped and ordered on a given day. It will also use artificial intelligence (AI) to adjust food production in real time and introduce a dedicated onboard food waste role to monitor and train crew members.
The other measures include tracking guest demand for specific menu items and adjusting menu preparation and ordering accordingly, introducing a food waste awareness campaign in the crew dining areas fleet wide.
The company says that to date, it has achieved a 24 pc reduction in food waste by focusing on the front end of the food system, which prevents and addresses many of the main causes of food waste, including inventory management and over-preparing.
The statement adds that since the company’s first environmental initiative, ‘Save the Waves’, aimed at ensuring no solid waste goes overboard, Royal Caribbean Group has worked diligently to increase accountability and strengthen responsible waste management practices. To do so, it developed Green Hubs, a capacity-building program to identify waste vendors in strategic destinations that has helped divert 92 pc of its waste from landfills. Since its start in 2014, the programme has grown to 33 ports worldwide.
The company says that now joining the Green Hub programme is the Galapagos Islands, where Silversea became the first operator to gain certification in environmental management by diverting all waste from landfill. Initiatives like this allow Royal Caribbean Group to continue to safeguard the delicate ecosystem of the Galapagos for future generations.
