Ponant Lifts Waste Recovery Rate From 13 to 49 Percent

Ponant Explorations raised its waste recovery rate from 13 percent in 2023 to 49 percent in 2025, according to its 2025 Sustainability Report, putting the cruise operator within reach of a 50 percent recycling target set for 2026.

The company eliminated nearly 24 tons of single-use plastic in 2025 and now sorts 100 percent of waste onboard, with materials recycled, reused or recovered for energy where possible. The gains come from tightened onboard practices and partnerships with local waste treatment organizations at ports of call.

Wassim Daoud, head of CSR and sustainability at Ponant Explorations, framed the program in operational terms. "Enhancing waste recovery is a key driver in reducing the environmental impact of our operations and helping to preserve the ecosystems we visit. We have set ourselves ambitious targets to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill, promote the recycling of materials and support local waste management and treatment networks," he said.

How Ponant found the gaps

Since 2024, Ponant has worked with Bureau Veritas on waste assessments at the ten ports of call that account for half of the waste unloaded each year across the fleet's 150 ports of call. The ten ports are Papeete, Athens, Venice, Nice, Longyearbyen, Glasgow, Broome, Darwin, Fort-de-France and Valletta. The operator ran the same exercise in Ushuaia and Reykjavik outside the partnership.

The assessments covered the full waste chain — collection, sorting, transport and treatment — to find where sorted material leaked back into landfill streams.

Papeete shows how the findings translated into results. The Paul Gauguin calls there more than 50 times a year, and a Bureau Veritas review found that waste sorted onboard was later mixed and sent to landfill onshore. Ponant responded by assembling stakeholders across Papeete's waste management chain. The recycling rate for waste unloaded in the port rose from 0 percent in 2025 to 60 percent in 2026.

Building a fleet-wide standard

In June 2025, Ponant partnered with Greece's Antipollution to assess waste management onboard and during port calls by Le Dumont d'Urville. The work examined sorting efficiency and the quality of onshore processing facilities.

That collaboration produced framework documents and onboard training programs that Ponant says will form the basis for a fleet-wide roll-out, alongside standardized monitoring and training tools.

The 2025 report also covers progress in the areas the group defines as key, including decarbonizing the fleet, supporting scientific research and strengthening ties with local communities encountered on voyages.

"Achieving these objectives depends on our ability to bring together those working on the ground to roll out reliable tools and scalable solutions," Daoud said.

The next test is whether the 2026 target holds: Ponant needs one more percentage point of recovery to reach the 50 percent recycling goal it has set for itself.