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NCL Becomes First Global Cruise Line to Eliminate Plastic Bottles

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Image courtesy NCL

Published Jan 9, 2020 10:21 PM by The Maritime Executive

Norwegian Cruise Line has gone single-use plastic beverage bottle-free across its entire fleet, the first global cruise line to achieve this status. (NCL is not technically the first cruise line of any kind to make the move: regional operator Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines ended plastic bottle use on board its vessels last year.)

The cruise company announced last year that it partnered with JUST Goods, a manufacturer of paper carton-packed water, which enabled the firm to replace all single-use plastic water bottles across its 17-ship fleet, beginning with its most recent ship, Norwegian Encore.

The move follows other plastic-reduction measures at NCL. In 2018, the company eliminated single-use plastic straws across its fleet and private destinations. In addition, the brand is working to eliminate single-use plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles later this year. The initiatives are part of NCL's overall environmental program, which aims to minimize the company's waste to landfills, reduce its CO2 emissions rate, increase sustainable sourcing and invest in emerging technologies.

“This is a very special and very proud moment for us,” said Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line. “As a leading cruise line, we are thrilled to make such an impact by eliminating single-use beverage bottles across our fleet. It’s just one of the ways we are working to preserve our oceans and the destinations we visit."

JUST Goods, a firm founded by a well-known family of American actors and entertainers, sells spring water in a plant-based carton. The carton is made of 82 percent renewable materials: the paper carton is made from trees grown in responsibly-managed forests and the cap and shoulder are made from a sugarcane-based plastic. It is both refillable and recyclable. JUST has bottling facilities in Glenn Falls, NY; Ballymena, Northern Ireland; and Ballarat, Australia. This allows the firm to meet demand without shipping from a single source.