Green Vision: MSC’s Ocean Cay Tackles Waste Through Recycling

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BIMINI, BAHAMAS – A major cruise line is doing its part to practice sustainability at its private island just 20 miles off the coast of Bimini – MSC Cruises’ Ocean Cay.

“Throughout the day we have two teams that actually collect the waste, which is the housekeeping team and the food and beverage team from the various areas, and it’s collected and brought to our recycling center,” according to the cay’s Operations Manager Chuck Weech.

It’s all part of their structured waste sorting program that also involves signage, education, and sustainable alternatives like replacing single-use plastics with aluminum water bottles.

Weech gave Our News team a tour of Ocean Cay’s recycling center where glass is shredded, cans are crushed and food waste is sorted, processed.

Weech says they have several machines that break down the waste.

“The first one would be the cardboard which would be compressed as well as the glass which is shattered and we make sure the employees have the proper PPE on,” he said.

“The aluminum cans are also compressed. For the vegetation, we also have a machine that shreds it.”

So where does the recycled waste go?

“So once everything is compressed and readied by the technical team our EHS team works with the ship’s EHS team and the products, such as the cardboard, plastics, aluminum and glass is taken to the ship and transported to our partners in the U.S. or Canada,” Weech said.

And Weech says the recycling program shows that Ocean Cay is more than just white sand and beautiful beaches, it’s also a green vision.