CMA CGM bans plastic on ships
Plastic is to be banned on of CMA CGM’s fleet of 500 vessels.
French shipping giant CMA CGM says it will not carry plastic waste on its ships after June 1, 2022 to ‘protect the oceans and biodiversity’.
It has already banned the loading of waste on to its vessels as of April 15.
The firm says it has set up an HS code for commodities and that false declarations will lead to firms being blacklisted.
“Every year, around 10 million tons of plastic waste end up in the sea,” said the company. “Unless action is taken, that figure is set to triple over the next 20 years to reach 29 million tons per year, which will cause irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, fauna and flora.”
CMA CGM says the plastic pollution comes from open-air storage and the absence of processing infrastructure for plastic waste that does not get recycled.
“With the decision, CMA CGM will prevent this type of waste from being exported to destinations where sorting, recycling or recovery cannot be assured,” it says.
According to the charity Greenpeace, researchers estimate that 12 million tonnes of plastic finds its way into the oceans every year, and that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.
