By
Alex Smith |
MSC Cruises has signed a new Single-Use Plastic Charter established by the UK Chamber of Shipping, which aims to stop the use of single-use plastic items by the end of 2021.
The cruise line eliminated 97 million items of plastic from its ships in 2019 after identifying almost 40,000 single-use plastic items in its hotel operations, shops, restaurants and kitchens. Nearly 20 million plastic straws were replaced with nine million compostable straws, plastic coverings for more than 10,000 sunbeds were removed, and 12 tonnes of plastic packaging for dishwater detergents was replaced by eco-friendly alternatives.
“We are honoured to be one of the charter’s first signatories and we applaud the UK Chamber of Shipping in launching its initiative,” said Linden Coppell, director of sustainability at MSC Cruises. “The pledge goes beyond the UK Government’s commitment to ban single plastic items which we hope will encourage more organisations to do more to combat what is of real global concern. According to research by the British government, 80 per cent of plastic enters the marine environment from land-based sources, especially via rivers, but clearly all of us in the shipping community must play our part.”