Instead of throwing away old carpets that were removed from a cruise ship that recently recently went into dry dock, a cruise line is recycling the material so it can be used on a sister ship when it gets remodeled.
AIDA Cruises, one of nine cruise lines from Carnival Corporation, is recycling nearly a half million square feet of carpet that was removed from AIDAdiva. It will be reused and put on AIDAluna at the ship’s next dry dock this coming fall.
But first, the carpet will be coarsely shredded at a plant located at the Marseille shipyard. A briquetting process will reduce the volume by a further 90%. The briquettes are then processed into volume fleece.
It will then be used as a base product for insulation material and as a carpet pad. They use old carpets, curtains and canopies from cruise ships to create the production of fleece.
Marc Spingler, Director Hotel Maintenance Dry Docks & Refit at AIDA Cruises, gave the following statement:
“The special thing is that we don’t simply throw away this large amount of carpet waste, but have found a way to recycle it. The recycling of carpets is a pilot project that we launched together with Oceancircle more than three years ago.
“Today, we can proudly say that we have taken an important step towards conserving resources and reducing waste. We see great potential for the future.”
The recycling measure is part of the cruise line’s program to achieve an improved circular economy. The pilot project, which was launched jointly by AIDA Cruises and Oceancircle, shows that recycling is not only sustainable, but also economically viable in the long term.
A new type of carpeting that is put on their cruise ships in crew areas and reception is 100% recyclable and allergy-friendly. These carpets are designed to be completely dismantled so that the company Aquafil can recycle them at the end of their useful life.
Spingler added:
“We are particularly proud that we will be using these carpet underlays, which are made from the material from AIDAdiva, on AIDAluna during the next shipyard period in fall 2025. This closes the circle. We are already thinking about producing other products for our ships from the recycled material, such as door plates or coat hangers.”
