The Symphony of the Seas is one of the largest cruise ships in the world. Built-in 2018, the Royal Caribbean ship is 1,188 feet long and weighs a total of 228,081 gross tons, according to the cruise line. Carnival Cruise Lines’ Symphony of the Seas is a “zero landfill ship,” which means it uses recycling and water filtration to deal with its own waste.The ship’s crew is made up of around 2,200 crew members, according to Royal Caribbean.
Alex Mago, environmental officer for the Symphony of the Seas, says that the waste management team separates the ship’s trash into recyclables on a lower deck. The ship’s crew separates glass into colors and can process up to 13,000 lbs of glass for a week-long cruise.” Each one of the ship’s 36 kitchens has a suction drain.
Food waste from Royal Caribbean cruises is dropped no less than 12 miles from land, according to the company’s waste management guidelines. “Food waste produced on board is sent to a pulper and pulverized to less than 25 mm, as per international standards, and discharged no closer than 12 nautical miles from land,” the guidelines state.