Carnival invests over half a million dollars in food waste

Food waste is a significant problem on cruise ships, with thousands of passengers generating enormous amounts of leftover food every day. In the past, cruise ships have dumped food waste into the ocean, raising serious environmental concerns.

Power Knot Ocean, a leading provider of onboard organic waste solutions to industry, announced that it has received orders from Carnival Corp totaling more than half a million dollars. These orders include multiple food digesters, parts and services for the world’s largest cruise line, with a fleet of over 90 ships.

Carnival’s environmental credentials

In 2022, Carnival announced the completion of nearly 600 food waste biodigestion plants across its fleet as part of its ongoing commitment to environmental compliance and food waste management.

Power Knot Ocean’s state-of-the-art biodigesters offer an eco-friendly solution to the management of food waste, which is essential to the fast-growing cruise industry.

In anticipation of further expansion, Carnival has placed additional orders for Power Knot Ocean’s LFC Biodigester to fit out carnival anniversary under construction at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

“Additional orders for the LFC biodigester reinforce Carnival Corporation’s confidence in the LFC biodigester as best in class,” said Iain Milnes, President of Power Knot. “During the pandemic and despite global supply chain shortages, Power Knot has continued to smoothly deliver food waste biodigesters, service and support to our customers.”

With the help of biodigestion systems, Carnival Corporation can significantly reduce the amount of food waste entering the ocean, thereby contributing to a cleaner and healthier marine environment.

Additionally, reducing food waste being unloaded at ports reduces the burden on local waste management systems and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation and disposal of waste. Power Knot has also worked with Carnival to replace defunct biodigesters from previous years.

What is a biofermenter?

Bio-fermenters are closed containers that turn food waste into liquid at an accelerated rate, breaking down 99% of the food put in, leaving only a fine, silky material using beneficial microorganisms, oxygen and warm water.

The LFC biodigester is available in different sizes and can process food waste from 10 kg (20 lb) to 3000 kg (6600 lb) per day.

With hundreds of installations worldwide, both on land and at sea, the LFC biodigester is a reliable, safe and cost-effective way for a cruise line to significantly reduce the amount of food waste dumped in port or even at sea and the Reduce costs, inconvenience, chaos and carbon footprint.

In May 2022, Carnival announced it had completed the installation of nearly 600 food waste biodigesterators across its fleet to support ongoing operations Food waste management and reduction efforts as part of its overall commitment to environmental compliance to ensure that every ship that sails is fully equipped for galley crew to use.

At carnival 14 biodigestion plants alone can process about 142,000 pounds of food waste per week. The successful implementation of biodigestion systems across Carnival’s fleet has the potential to encourage other cruise lines to follow suit and invest in sustainable waste management solutions. This will reduce the environmental impact of the industry without Impact on guest operations.