MSC Cruises has signed up to banish single-use plastic from its ships by 2021.
The operator has pledged its support to the new Single-Use Plastic Charter established by the UK Chamber of Shipping.
Last year, the cruise line eliminated 97 million items of plastic after identifying nearly 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 tons of plastic packaging for dishwater detergents was replaced with eco-friendly alternatives.
Linden Coppell, director of sustainability at MSC Cruises, said: “We are honoured to be one of the charter’s first signatories and we applaud the UK Chamber of Shipping in launching its initiative.
“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.”
MSC Cruises recently published its 2019 Sustainability Report that set out its vision to become an environmental leader in the global maritime sector.
Its sustainability programme is organised around four key pillars: Planet, People, Place and Procurement.