Recently, Disney Cruise Line implemented a new recycling initiative to reduce waste heading to a landfill. With 6 ships and more on the way, the cruise line is now recycling retried mooring lines which are typically replaced every 7 to 10 years to comply with safety requirements.

Historically, the ship’s retired mooring lines have been sent to landfills or burned to produce energy at the end of their lifespan. Now, Disney Cruise Line’s latest effort is diverting more than approximately 225,000 pounds or 20 miles of mooring lines from landfills by transforming them into entirely new products as part of the company’s sustainability innovations to minimize waste.

To recycle the lines, which are made of polypropylene plastic, Disney partnered with several vendors that ground the lines into pellets used to make household items like flowerpots, buckets, clothes hangers and more.

“We saw the opportunity to think creatively and collaborate with plastic recycling experts to address the industry-wide challenge of discarding and replacing mooring lines,” said Barry Compagnoni, Disney Cruise Line’s Vice President of Safety, Sustainability and Medical Operations. “As our fleet experiences a period of tremendous growth, we feel a responsibility to continue implementing innovative solutions that minimize our impact on the environment.”

Disney Cruise Line pursued an alternative waste option for its retired mooring lines in support of Disney’s environmental goals, continuing its long-standing commitment to sustainability. This initiative reflects collaboration across several teams within Disney Cruise Line and adds to the cruise line’s ongoing efforts to minimize waste, including the elimination of single-use plastics, across its fleet.

Other examples of the way Disney Cruise Line minimizes waste and single-use plastics include the following.

Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is Disney Cruise Line’s all-new island destination on the island of Eleuthera that celebrates the rich culture and natural beauty of The Bahamas. Disney Cruise Line took the opportunity to rethink its food and beverage services, resulting in the new island destination operating without any guest-facing single-use plastics. For example, all meals and drinks are served with reusable dishware, flatware and cups.

Disney Cruise Line has also recently introduced redesigned trash cans at Disney Castaway Cay, its island destination in the Abaco chain of islands in The Bahamas. With separate receptacles for recycling and food scraps, these new bins allow waste to be properly sorted and recycled more effectively and efficiently.

Many crew member costumes featured fleetwide are made from recycled plastics. For example, aboard the all-new Disney Treasure, nearly 90 percent of all guest-facing costumes include elements made from recycled plastic waste. Costumes featuring recycled plastics can also be seen onboard the Disney Wish in the Broadway-style show “Disney The Little Mermaid.”

Disney Cruise Line also continues to encourage its vendors to develop innovative solutions that reduce waste from packaging, shipping and more. For example, the cruise line purchases guest room towels in bulk, helping reduce excess single-use plastic wrap.

Many single-use plastics have already been removed or replaced onboard Disney ships, including items like plastic merchandise bags and straws. In fact, Disney Cruise Line has eliminated the use of nearly 1 million plastic merchandise bags annually by switching to reusable bags onboard.

When Disney Cruise Line stopped using plastic straws across its fleet 2018, it eliminated more than 14 million plastic straws it typically gave out each year. More recently, flavored straws that guests enjoy with their drinks are now offered at select locations at island destinations and onboard ships.

Likewise, onboard lounges, like Cove Café, now serve specialty coffees in plastic-free, all paper cups. Plastic water bottles have also been replaced with recyclable aluminum options that can be refilled at water stations across each ship in both guest and crew member areas.

Guests who have previously sailed with Disney receive amenities and lanyards in their staterooms as part of the Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club loyalty program. Instead of traditional single-use plastic sleeves, these items are now packaged with paper-based materials. Since making this transition in 2024, Disney has removed over 3 million plastic sleeves from its onboard operations.

Guests will also notice refillable bath product dispensers in bathrooms, replacing plastic amenity containers. By switching to refillable dispensers in all guest staterooms in 2019, Disney Cruise Line removed an annual distribution of more than 2.2 million plastic amenity containers across its fleet — a total of 18 tons of plastic waste.

Disney Cruise Line remains committed to taking action to support a healthier planet for people and wildlife – collective efforts The Walt Disney Company calls Disney Planet Possible. Learn more about Disney’s environmental goals at impact.disney.com.