Cruise ships spend a lot of time out at sea. That means they store up a lot of plastic trash to toss out at each port.
A new initiative aims to make this process less wasteful. Carbon Neutral and EcoCreation plan to equip Caribbean cruise ports with chemical pyrolysis systems that can turn hard-to-recycle plastics into new products, according to a press release.
Pyrolysis, which involves heating materials to extreme temperatures, can turn low-value plastic into a type of oil that can be resold into the economy at scale, whether refined into fuel or used to make new materials.
The facilities that Carbon Neutral and EcoCreation have in the works would be able to process 300,000 metric tons of plastic each year, which could translate to about one million barrels of pyrolysis oil.
This circular reuse scheme isn't just an efficient business move; it can also stop plastic from polluting landfills, oceans, and forests.
As plastic breaks apart in the environment, it creates microplastics, which have been linked to human health issues, pollute water sources, and degrade soil quality.
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The Caribbean is a high-traffic cruise market, making it the perfect place to implement this technology. The initiative could help both cruise lines and local communities clean up how they handle plastic trash.
The companies have chosen Puerto Rico as the first place to get the upgrade. Its ports service major cruise lines, such as Carnival, Disney, and Royal Caribbean International.
The plan is to build up to 120 similar facilities across the Caribbean over the next 10 years. Each one will follow international maritime waste regulations and existing compliance frameworks, according to the press release.
"This partnership reflects a practical, infrastructure-driven response to one of the maritime industry's most persistent waste challenges," Walter Hong, CEO of Carbon Neutral, said in the release.
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You can also avoid generating single-use plastic waste in the first place by choosing alternatives, which could even save you money in the long run.
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