The world's largest cruise shipowner Carnival Corporation announced it had completed the installation of ~600 food waste biodigesters across its fleet in order to support the ongoing food waste management & reduction efforts as part of the company's commitment to environmental compliance.
This innovative technology has been added to cruise ships from the company’s 9 brands – CCL-Carnival, AIDA, Costa, Cunard, Princess, HAL-Holland America, P&O (UK and Australia), and Seabourn.
The biodigester technology uses a natural aerobic digestion process in each machine to break down food waste utilizing beneficial microorganisms, enabling the systems to process anything that could be consumed by a human.
Able to perform automated digestion 24 hours daily, the biodigesters are placed in key areas of the vessel where food is processed, improving onboard operations by making it more efficient for the crew to control food waste. The machines capture non-food items/other materials accidentally mixed with food waste, providing additional protection for environmental compliance on each cruise ship.
Since first piloting the technology back in 2019, Carnival and its global cruise line brands have continued to expand the use of the systems across their fleets. Most recently, Carnival Cruise Line, announced it was the first major cruise company to employ biodigesters across its entire fleet as the company returns its final of 23 total liners to passenger operations this month.
As Carnival Corporation’s entire fleet returns to operations in 2022, its full lineup of brands continues to see benefits from the improved food waste management as the additional biodigesters come online, strengthening environmental performance across the global operations of the company.