Carnival Corporation has completed the installation of nearly 600 food waste biodigesters across its fleet in support of 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.
The biodigester technology uses a natural aerobic digestion process inside each machine to efficiently break down food waste utilising a mix of beneficial microorganisms, processing anything that is consumable by a human. Performing automated digestion 24 hours per day, the biodigesters are strategically placed in key areas of the ship where food is processed, making it easier and more efficient for crew members to manage and control food waste. 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.
Carnival Cruise Line is the first major cruise line to employ biodigesters across its entire fleet.
The 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 per cent reduction in unit food waste by 2022 and a 50 per cent reduction in unit food waste by 2030. These new goals build on the company’s latest achievement of reducing food waste per person by over 20 per cent at the end of 2021, which doubled its original goal of reaching a 10 per cent reduction in food waste by the end of last year, relative to a 2019 baseline.
