CMA CGM Group will no longer be transporting plastic waste on its vessels from summer this year.
From 1 June 2022, the group will cease transporting plastic waste in a landmark decision announced by CEO Rodolphe Saadé at the One Ocean Summit this week.
In his address, Saadé also announced that the Group will host one of the two sites of the French Institute for Decarbonation at Tangram, the Group’s major innovation and training center due to open in Marseille in 2023.
Every year, around 10 million tons of plastic waste end up in the sea. 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.
The causes of this pollution include open-air storage and the absence of processing infrastructure for plastic waste that does not actively get recycled or reused.
With the decision that it will no longer transport plastic waste on board its ships, CMA CGM said it will prevent this type of waste from being exported to destinations where sorting, recycling or recovery cannot be assured.
