The dianense shipping company Baleària will become, thanks to an agreement signed with Ecoembes, in the first in the country to recycle the 100% of the plastic containers, cans and briks (yellow container) that it generates, both on board and in the maritime stations.
Thanks to this agreement, it will carry out an improvement of its selective collection system (both plastic containers, cans and bricks and paper and cardboard), which is being conducted a pilot test on the ferry Regina Baltica with the collaboration of LV Reciclamas, an authorized waste manager. It is expected that the new system will be fully implemented at the end of 2019.
Baleària and Ecoembes have been working together since the 2015 year. In these three years of collaboration, more than 250 tons of packaging waste have been recycled. This recycled amount is approximately equivalent to what a municipality of 19.000 inhabitants can generate. In addition, during the 2017, the shipping company designed the first phase of a circular economy project so that a manufacturer of urban furniture can use this waste to convert it into furniture for ships.
Verónica Catany, Marketing and Commercial Director of BaleàriaSays that "This collaboration reaffirms our commitment to the environment and to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals linked to responsible production and consumption and climate action. In addition to betting on eco-efficiency with the use of liquefied natural gas as fuel, we want our daily activity to leave the smallest possible footprint on the planet ".
On the other hand, Alberto Caldeiro, manager of Recycling and Complementary Collections of Ecoembes, has indicated that "For Ecoembes it is an honor to collaborate with companies, such as Baleària, that want to contribute to the conservation of the environment through recycling, promoting a correct separation of the containers between their customers and workers".
Edible straws and biodegradable utensils
The ships of the Baleària shipping company that cover the routes with Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands have joined the pioneering initiative that has already been applied for months on the routes with the Balearic Islands: using message and single use utensils made with cellulose and biodegradable materials in the self-service restaurants and cafeterias on board. In this way, all the national lines of the company have these more sustainable materials.
Baleària has chosen to use kitchenware manufactured with components that are biodegradable. On the one hand, recycled cellulose cardboard, which is in turn recyclable and has a maximum degradation time of one year. This cellulose comes from controlled forests and whitening processes are not used, which eliminates both chlorine and other chemicals. On the other hand, plastic polyacid lactic acid (PLA) is used, a thermoplastic obtained from corn starch, cassava, cassava or sugarcane, which is easily degraded in water and carbon oxide. In addition, they are manufactured at low temperatures, which saves on natural resources.
These biodegradable materials, which must be deposited in the container of organic matter, are used in glasses, napkins, tablecloths, stirrers, spoons, straws and other single-use containers, in front of the tableware manufactured with PVC, Polypropylene or PET, whose time of degradation is greater than 100 years.
On the one hand, the shipping company is the first to integrate edible straws, 100% natural, biodegradable and with packaging that is recyclable and sustainable. The passenger will find aboard the vessels of edible and aromatic straws of the brand Sorbos, with a caloric level lower than a sugar.
