Recycling service onboard ships

Crushing glass bottles to an optimum size for recycling

TT-Line’s Spirit of Tasmania twin ships are ahead of the fleet when it comes to glass recycling, with both vessels recycling 400 kg of glass a week - equivalent to more than 117,000 stubbies diverted from landfill and recycled each year.

Over the past two months, Spirit of Tasmania has been trialling a glass recycling service called Bottlecycler and has just signed on to bring the machines on board two of its ships permanently.

Funded by the Packaging Stewardship Forum (PSF) of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, the trial, involves a Bottlecycler machine, which sits behind the bar or in service areas, crushing glass bottles to an optimum size for recycling. This keeps contamination to a minimum and makes recycling rates soar.

Kevin Maynard, Company Secretary from TT-Line, said he was proud of the steps the company was taking towards reducing its impact on the environment.

“The crew responded well to trialling the new Bottlecycler machine on board - even though it can sometimes mean extra work, they are extremely encouraging and supportive.”

General Manager of the PSF, Jenny Pickles, highlighted that the comprehensive service is not only working for the TT-Line ships but for many venues throughout Australia.

“We have funded many Bottlecycler trials in Victoria and Tasmania and now we’re bridging the gap between - Bass Strait. At the end of each voyage, the crushed glass is offloaded in Victoria and recycled at Visy’s recycling plant at Laverton.

“Bottlecycler trials in Victoria have been funded by the National Packaging Covenant and, after 18 months, more than one million kilograms of glass crushed through the Bottlecycler machines has been recycled,” Pickles said.

“We’re aiming to build on the NPC project results with our own conducted trials throughout regional Victoria. Spirit of Tasmania is one of the first to sign on permanently.”

Passenger ships have been operating on Bass Strait for the past 50 years, with Spirit of Tasmania I and II commencing service 1 September 2002, increasing the volume of passengers crossing the Strait.