Collection and recycling of aluminium beverage cans on cruise ships

15 February 2016

In 9 years, from 2007 to 2015, 334 tons of aluminium were recycled from Costa ships calling at Savona.

CIAL (Aluminium Packaging Consortium), Costa Cruises and the Port Authority of Savona presented, on board the Costa Diadema, “Message in a can”, a promotion and development project for the collection and recycling of aluminium beverage cans, under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea.

“Message in a can” involves three main activities: the recycling of aluminium from Costa ships calling at Savona; an awareness campaign created specifically for the citizens of Savona, and developed in cooperation with the City, to donate to the city urban furnishings made from recycled aluminium; a campaign to enhance awareness on social media,for which the best photograph will be rewarded with a Costa cruise.

Minister of the Environment, Gianluca Galletti, said: “The project to collect and recycle aluminium cans on board ships, successfully kicked off a few years ago thanks to collaboration between CIAL and Costa Cruises, has generated its environmental and economic results and benefits: concrete proof of how necessary it is to keep awareness high regarding issues involving the prevention of waste production in all areas, including such an important field as the maritime sector. This is a positive experience, to utilise as a point of departure for developing an increasingly efficient system for managing waste on ships, ferries and in marinas and commercial ports.”

Stefania Lallai, Sustainability and External Relations Director of Costa Cruises, observed: “Thanks to cooperation with CIAL and the Port Authority of Savona, we developed a project on board our ships that led to the recycling of 334 tons of aluminium in 9 years. Our long-term objective is to extend this message of sustainability to the entire city of Savona and to an increasingly wider public, so that such conduct becomes everyday practice in everyone’s life.”

The collection and recycling of aluminium from Costa ships in Savona began in 2007, and represents a model of excellence in the maritime sector. About 334 tons of aluminium were recycled from 2007 to 2015. Using a 33 cl beverage can as a unit of measurement, 334 tons, equal to 27 million cans, if placed in a single row, would cover a distance of 3915 Km, the same distance covered by almost two seven-day cruises of the Costa Diadema in the Mediterranean. Always using the same parameter, 334 tons of aluminium can be used, for example, to make 33,400 bicycles, 722,000 moka coffee pots, 221,000 desk lamps, or 37 coaches for high-speed trains.

From the beginning of the project, the quantity of aluminium collected from Costa ships has more than doubled: from 23.2 tons in 2007 to 48.6 in 2015. In addition to important environmental advantages, “Message in a can” also has guaranteed social benefits: the economic compensation from CIAL for the material collected is redistributed to Costa personnel who, on board the ships, are involved in the aluminium collection and compacting operations.

“For a new and renewed development of the global economy”, points out Gino Schiona, President of CIAL, “the keywords are ‘energy savings and efficient use of resources’, and the recycling of waste will reduce the use of raw materials in all developed countries on a regular basis. And, to explain the phenomenon there’s nothing better than the recycling of aluminium beverage cans, which helps save 95% of the energy needed to produce new metal. And this is perhaps the main message contained in aluminium beverage cans. A strong and important message that involves participation and sharing. It also embraces the concept of environment and social protection while also ensuring truly sustainable development and growth. In other words, the can as a packaging symbol is capable of reconciling consumer needs with respect for the environment.”

“The Port Authority of Savona is proud of this initiative, which is part of its policy of commitment to waste management in Savona-Vado port area. In 2007 we implemented a certified waste separation area, that is currently able to stock 79 different types of waste and separate for disposal and recycling 87% of total waste produced in the port area" declared the president of the Port Authority of Savona, Gian Luigi Miazza.

Thanks to cooperation with the Municipality of Savona, Costa Cruises and CIAL will kick off “Savona, Message in a can”, a campaign to enhance awareness aimed specifically at the entire city of Savona, with the objective of improving the separate collection of aluminium. Between 1st March and 30th June, a bill will be posted near residences and businesses explaining how to properly collect aluminium packaging. If in the four months of the campaign at least 25% more aluminium is collected compared to the same period in 2015, CIAL and Costa Cruises will donate to Savona three benches made with recycled aluminium to furnish one of the city’s parks.

Finally, the shared commitment of Costa Cruises and CIAL will go beyond local confines and spread into the general public. From 1st March to 6th June, “Message in a can” will also appear on social channels. Users of Instagram and Twitter will be asked to share a photograph with the hashtag #messageinacan, based on the theme “put your message to save the planet in a can”. Whoever takes the best picture will win a Costa cruise for two in the Mediterranean, while each of the three special mentions will receive a Ricicletta^®, the City Bike by CIAL made from recycled aluminium.