Any plan to eliminate plastic water bottles? Like Oceania?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Just read this:

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20315-oceania-cruises-to-eliminate-plastic-water-bottles.html?fbclid=IwAR3Lt6Zx013An8cUrI7FzOSqoAX2K4K2JTlI9ucC80ZESlOW2tObDhHgjiU

 

Sounds like a great idea whose time has come.  I know that the PG tried to do this several years ago and failed because the passengers just wouldn't accept it, but now I think public sentiment has turned around.  I'm wondering if Regent, being a sister company, has similar plans.

[Xerxes10]

Great idea! I really hope Regent adopts it.

[Travelcat2]

Are you referring to the plastic bottles that the water comes in?  What is Oceania using?  When Silversea did away with water bottles in the suites and replaced it with some kind of water in a pitcher, it was a concern (wanting to know exactly where the water came from).

 

While I am all for recycling, does anyone know if Regent recycles those plastic bottles?  I would think that this is something they would do.  As long as they are recycled, I have no issue with them.

[mikenbob]

I think it is a great idea.  It is not something that is easily accomplished overnight, but worth the effort.  What we have experienced at some luxury hotels is that they put a branded refillable bottle in the rooms for each guest and then provide stations where they can be filled with chilled, filtered water.  Guests are encouraged to take the bottles with them on excursions and back home to use in the future.  

[mikenbob]

Just now, Travelcat2 said:

Are you referring to the plastic bottles that the water comes in?  What is Oceania using?  When Silversea did away with water bottles in the suites and replaced it with some kind of water in a pitcher, it was a concern (wanting to know exactly where the water came from).

 

While I am all for recycling, does anyone know if Regent recycles those plastic bottles?  I would think that this is something they would do.  As long as they are recycled, I have no issue with them.

 

Regent does have a good trash handling system (we had a tour a few years back on Mariner) where everything is separated into food stuffs, plastic, metals, glass, corrugate, and paper.  Each is handled a different way, but nothing is thrown overboard.  An issue is that once it is off-loaded, there is no guarantee that it is recycled, and it often ends up in a landfill.  Recycling is great, but reuse and repurpose is even better.

[Johnthesailor]

I don't mind if they provide refillable bottles as well for those that prefer but I prefer the current capped and sealed bottles.  I can grab a few prior to an excursion with no hassle, especially if I decide I need an extra as I'm exiting or want a chilled bottle.  I believe they are recycled but even if not, the current bottles are preferable to me.

[Travelcat2]

Agree that reuse and repurpose are better but I cannot see Regent passengers walking around at night with bottle on their way to a "filling station".  

 

Due to demand, many companies are manufacturing new items to help with plastic in our environment.  Some work - some don't.  The city where we live does not allow plastic bags (except for veggies in the market and most places use a special type of plastic bag).  Since we have 3 cats and cannot put litter in the toilet or paper bag, I was buying plastic bags in bulk.  It made me feel badly but I had no choice ......... until I did.  Now I have 500 plastic bags that are "green".  Not sure how that works - especially since it still has the handles that fish can get caught in.   

 

Another failed attempt by some companies is the introduction of metal and glass straws.  I bought some but they make no sense.  They don't always fit in my handbag and, after use, what do you do with them (suppose you could take them to the restroom to clean them - they do come with a brush).  It ended up being such a pain that I have a nice collection of reusable straws that are never used.

 

My point is not to rush into anything until it has been proven to work.  I recently read that milk will return to glass bottles in many places.  That makes sense to me (and assume make a deposit and return them).  However, replacing plastic water bottles is a HUGE undertaking - one that needs to be addressed worldwide - not just on Regent ships (and In my opinion, glass makes no sense for small water bottles)..  

 

As John just posted, we want to see a cap that can reseal the bottle/container and is easy to stick in a backpack.  Not interested in reusable on a cruise ship.

[Hambagahle]

Do you remember when straws were waxed paper?   I wish they would return to that because paper can be recycled.  here in Switzerland plastic - plastic bottles etc - is recycled too.  In fact we recycle as a nation about 90% of everything.  Plastic containers that held chicken for example - they go back to the supermarket...   We have to buy special trash bags (aren't allowed to use just anything) and EACH 35l bag costs $1.98 at current rates which really makes one think about what goes into it and what can be recycled.  I dread when I have to add a roll of 10 of these bags to my weekly shop - $19.98 is added to the bill!!

 

I would not mind having a nice "souvenir" bottle from Regent which I could then fill up at a water station though I might prefer to fill it up with something more alcoholic!!

[ronrick1943]

We were on Oceania in December and they had glass bottles in the suite, but plastic bottles when to got off the ship.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Most places here in Dunedin, Florida have made straws optional, and some are providing paper straws.  The ones I've used are perfectly adequate, so I'm sure that will become a solved problem (no, they weren't waxed.)  The water situation is a bit more complex, but I'm betting this will be solved too, especially with the will of the passengers.

 

Of course in the Third World, water that's sealed is very important in places, not sure how to solve that one.

Edited February 2, 2019 by Wendy The Wanderer

[Travelcat2]

They can always go back to glass bottles but there must have been a good reason why they changed to plastic in the first place. Expense is likely one reason.  Wonder how many people would go back to making a deposit every time you purchased water, soft drinks (not in a can), milk, etc.  Would you return the bottle to the store or toss it?  And, if tossed in the trash, they eventually break and there would be chards of glass in dumps where birds frequent for food.  And, does glass stay around for years or does it disintegrate?  Really don't know the answer but likely someone else does.

 

 

[PaulaJK]

I definitely would not like the pitcher with water.....myriad possibilities for germs with this option.

 

I agree w Travelcat regarding nocturnal adventures refilling bottles.

 

Glass is heavier and taking a few on a tour might become an issue. I do see glass milk bottles at local supermarkets but they tend to be the special milks and few in number.

Since most beverages ( flavored waters, sodas,juices) are in plastic bottles I am guessing that there is a cost advantage to plastic. 

[Hambagahle]

15 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

They can always go back to glass bottles but there must have been a good reason why they changed to plastic in the first place. Expense is likely one reason.  Wonder how many people would go back to making a deposit every time you purchased water, soft drinks (not in a can), milk, etc.  Would you return the bottle to the store or toss it?  And, if tossed in the trash, they eventually break and there would be chards of glass in dumps where birds frequent for food.  And, does glass stay around for years or does it disintegrate?  Really don't know the answer but likely someone else does.

 

 

Here in Switzerland we are not allowed to put any glass into the very expensive trash bags ($1.95 each...)  we have to separate:   glass, batteries, paper, table scrapings, compostable vegetables (peelings etc etc) anything with material like clothes and finally plastic.  Any plastic bottle has to go into the PET recycle bin at the grocery stores.  Plastic wrapping also goes into a bin at the grocery store IF it has not touched food.   Food plastic wrappings get cut down flat and then put into the expensive trash bag.    I don't find that this takes me a huge amount of time and I am happy to do it for the environment.  I think it is the "way of the future".   They can re-cycle plastic bottles but they do need to be kept together and not mixed in with normal "trash".

[travelwell]

Interesting topic. If this was for our everyday use at home it is great. We do not buy bottled water at home. My issue is my DH and I started drinking only bottled water several cruises ago at advice of travel doctor as our feet were swelling on ships. He felt probably a combo of ships water and salty food. Since that time we ask for sparkling water or still bottled water at meals, use bottled on shore excursions. Gone are the days of feet swelling. We do get ships water in coffee and tea but have greatly decreased drinking ships water. I do know ships water is controversial and for everyone who feels as we do there are others who feel ships water just fine. Of course a happy medium is to provide option of large containers of bottled water that we can feel our individual bottles with.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

3 hours ago, travelwell said:

Interesting topic. If this was for our everyday use at home it is great. We do not buy bottled water at home. My issue is my DH and I started drinking only bottled water several cruises ago at advice of travel doctor as our feet were swelling on ships. He felt probably a combo of ships water and salty food. Since that time we ask for sparkling water or still bottled water at meals, use bottled on shore excursions. Gone are the days of feet swelling. We do get ships water in coffee and tea but have greatly decreased drinking ships water. I do know ships water is controversial and for everyone who feels as we do there are others who feel ships water just fine. Of course a happy medium is to provide option of large containers of bottled water that we can feel our individual bottles with.

 

I don't know if you read the strategy Oceania is taking, but there will be a complete water filtration/distillation process that they're adopting so it won't be "ship's water" (which I hate too.)

 

6 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

Here in Switzerland we are not allowed to put any glass into the very expensive trash bags ($1.95 each...)  we have to separate:   glass, batteries, paper, table scrapings, compostable vegetables (peelings etc etc) anything with material like clothes and finally plastic.  Any plastic bottle has to go into the PET recycle bin at the grocery stores.  Plastic wrapping also goes into a bin at the grocery store IF it has not touched food.   Food plastic wrappings get cut down flat and then put into the expensive trash bag.    I don't find that this takes me a huge amount of time and I am happy to do it for the environment.  I think it is the "way of the future".   They can re-cycle plastic bottles but they do need to be kept together and not mixed in with normal "trash".

 

Where we are in Canada we do most of that.  Clothing, batteries, and some other things go to special places, and we have community recycling days to deliver them.  But we have recycling pickup for lots of types of plastic, including styrofoam,  plastic tubs, paper, tinfoil, tetra packs, drink cartons, cans, bottles, etc. We have compostable collection as well, including diapers and kitty litter.  Plastic film mainly still eludes the recycling systems, as well as black plastic.  But the systems get more and more sophisticated.

 

On top of that all glass bottles and cans coming from beer and liquor/wine get returned to the vendors and reused (they have a deposit which ensures that they get returned.) Even corks and other packaging can be returned and recycled.

 

[Travelcat2]

17 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

On top of that all glass bottles and cans coming from beer and liquor/wine get returned to the vendors and reused (they have a deposit which ensures that they get returned.) Even corks and other packaging can be returned and recycled.

 

 

It sounds as if Canada has a more sophisticated recycling system than some places in the U.S.   Based on the habits I've seen, some people don't care if they pay a deposit -- they just toss cans and bottles.  While we try to recycle as much as possible, we could do more.  For instance, they do recycle glass here but you need to remove labels, clean it, etc. and I don't want to do that (just being honest).  I would return glass bottles with a deposit to a store but can't see the majority of people doing that.  In any case, having glass in the landfill does not sound any better than having plastic.

 

I did find the fact that they recycle kitty litter in Canada very interesting.  I wonder how it gets from the cat box to whatever container is used for recycling.  Would love to recycled kitty litter but it would have to be easy as we clean our two cat boxes multiple times a day.

 

Lest I sound as if I do not recycle, I do well with paper and cardboard - don't even mind breaking down the multiple cardboard boxes that we receive from online shopping each week.  

 

Back to the straws - we do not find that paper straws work well. So, at least for now, I use 1 straw per day for probably 300 days per year.  If/when they find a suitable replacement, I'll change.

[Hambagahle]

Wish we had a pick up system for recycling.  Only things that get collected are the white garbage bags (the ones that cost 1.95$ each) and paper.  For the rest we have to either take them to the town “dump” or to an Eco-Point that is set up in a square near our house once a week...

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

It sounds as if Canada has a more sophisticated recycling system than some places in the U.S.   Based on the habits I've seen, some people don't care if they pay a deposit -- they just toss cans and bottles.  While we try to recycle as much as possible, we could do more.  For instance, they do recycle glass here but you need to remove labels, clean it, etc. and I don't want to do that (just being honest).  I would return glass bottles with a deposit to a store but can't see the majority of people doing that.  In any case, having glass in the landfill does not sound any better than having plastic.

 

The homeless take care of that problem, and not just homeless, but disadvantaged seniors, people like that.  I see them bringing their shopping carts of empties to the pickup place near our condo. Everything that has a deposit is valuable.

 

I did find the fact that they recycle kitty litter in Canada very interesting.  I wonder how it gets from the cat box to whatever container is used for recycling.  Would love to recycled kitty litter but it would have to be easy as we clean our two cat boxes multiple times a day.

 

Our organic recycling system has claws to remove plastic film.  So in an apartment with a chute, you can store your organics in a plastic bag and dump it that way, and the plastic gets removed.  Ditto disposable diapers. In Ottawa they use paper bags instead of plastic, so no diapers.  Each municipality is different.

 

Lest I sound as if I do not recycle, I do well with paper and cardboard - don't even mind breaking down the multiple cardboard boxes that we receive from online shopping each week.  

 

Back to the straws - we do not find that paper straws work well. So, at least for now, I use 1 straw per day for probably 300 days per year.  If/when they find a suitable replacement, I'll change.

As I said elsewhere, I've had paper straws here in restaurants that were perfectly adequate, in my opinion. 

 

 

[travelwell]

Wow, shows that I should read things prior than posting. This water system sounds awesome. I goggled Vero Water and what this company is doing is pretty neat. I hope if Regent does this they individualizes the water bottles to avoid mixups:). As per my previous ignorant post shows, passenger education will be key to the success.

 

I too am jealous of Canada's recycling. Our recycling bins allow less and less. A few months ago we were told no more glass. This is metro Atlanta. Our best recycling experience oddly was in a very large subdivision in rural north Georgia where every thing easily recycled.

[1982CruzStart]

We are fortunate as we can recycle most things and they can be put in a bin that is picked up every 2 weeks.  Glass can not be put in the bin due to the danger of breakage. We have to take glass to our local recyling place. As well batteries, paint and a few other things must be taken to a recycling depot but the majority of items just get thrown in the bin.  They ask that you clean any food items before putting them in.  With glass i simply put it in the dishwasher and then put them in a separate bin to be taken to the recycling place. With tin cans i just rinse them out as soon as i empty them. 

 

We pay recycling deposits on a lot of items. Some can be refunded if we take them in to specific places and  some are just the price you pay for buying those kinds of items. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 2/3/2019 at 1:55 PM, travelwell said:

...

I too am jealous of Canada's recycling. Our recycling bins allow less and less. A few months ago we were told no more glass. This is metro Atlanta. Our best recycling experience oddly was in a very large subdivision in rural north Georgia where every thing easily recycled.

 

Yeah, well the problem with glass is that it's really not "worth" recycling.  It can be easily turned into new glass, or sand, or ..., but it's not an economically viable business because glass is so cheap.  Sigh.

[gnomie1]

Currently the following states have "bottle bill" which is  a deposit/refund system for beverage containers:

 

California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Vermont

 

The system works quite well -we do not return our recyclables because there is always some group, whether it be the scouts, a sports team or a school collecting the bottles and cans as a fund raiser and we save them to donate.

 

When walking around the neighborhood on recycling day one rarely sees an item for deposit because they have been returned.

 

Out of habit, when on an excursion and I have an empty water bottle, I try to look for a marked recycling bin. My office is in a large office park with lovely walking trails - after our stint with the polar vortex last week, yesterday it was 61 degrees and everyone was walking and not one person had a plastic water bottle - almost everyone I know uses refillable bottles. There are even filling stations along the routes, as there are in many places, including parks, shopping malls, supermarkets, etc.

 

gnomie

 

[DavidTheWonderer]

1 hour ago, gnomie1 said:

... The system works quite well -we do not return our recyclables because there is always some group, whether it be the scouts, a sports team or a school collecting the bottles and cans as a fund raiser and we save them to donate....

 

Interesting.  In Ontario where there is, sadly, only a deposit on containers for alcoholic beverages, most people take back their own.  But those who don't indirectly fund a small business for people who are, shall we say, "economically disadvantaged."  I live next door to a Beer Store in Toronto, and recognise a couple of the regulars who show up a couple of times a week with shopping carts full of bottles and cans. The overall effect is what we want: keeping these materials out of the landfill.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Yeah, well the problem with glass is that it's really not "worth" recycling.  It can be easily turned into new glass, or sand, or ..., but it's not an economically viable business because glass is so cheap.  Sigh.

 

Agree with you!  We do have glass recycling here and few people use their "glass" recycle bin.  It is a different color than other bins  and I rarely see them out at the curb for pick-up.  For us, it isn't about the money but rather having an easy way of having it recycled.  IF I didn't have to remove labels from glass jars, I would recycle them but - guess I don't want to take the time and do not want to put those items in my dishwasher with labels or partial labels still attached as it could clog up the whole system.

 

If Regent adopts the new policy that Oceania has, it would not bother me a bit to have glass bottles on the ship and plastic ones on excursions.   

[commodore2010]

On 2/1/2019 at 12:41 PM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Just read this:

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20315-oceania-cruises-to-eliminate-plastic-water-bottles.html?fbclid=IwAR3Lt6Zx013An8cUrI7FzOSqoAX2K4K2JTlI9ucC80ZESlOW2tObDhHgjiU

 

Sounds like a great idea whose time has come.  I know that the PG tried to do this several years ago and failed because the passengers just wouldn't accept it, but now I think public sentiment has turned around.  I'm wondering if Regent, being a sister company, has similar plans.

 

What a great idea.  Looks like they have systems for each suite. https://www.verowater.com/systems