Hudson Celebrates Earth Day 2024

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It is our commitment to aid conservation efforts to prevent the extinction of critical species, and to protect and promote the health and prosperity of marine and coastal ecosystems. So, on this Earth Day, we recognize our strict compliance with MARPOL Annex V’s ban on the disposal of all forms of plastics into the sea.

Hudson’s ocean-going fleet implements measures above and beyond what is required by MARPOL regulations to reduce our footprint and prevent pollution by air, land, and sea.

The following are just some of the ways Hudson strives to be Clean& Green™ to keep our planet happy every day:

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• Supply vessels with onboard compactors to reduce the overall volume of garbage generated on board, taking up less space in land fills
• Carefully segregate waste in offices, warehouses, and onboard vessels in line with our Garbage Management Plan, ensuring recyclables can be properly allocated for processing and reuse
• Seek to employ newly built vessels with innovative and eco-conscious fittings that allow for reduced emissions, greater efficiency, and less environmental impact

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And through these measures we also honor this year’s Earth Day 2024 theme of “Planet vs Plastics.” This year’s focus is to raise awareness on plastic pollution, reduce single-use plastic consumption, demand an end to fast-fashion, invest in technologies that can reduce plastic use, and overall, demand a 60%reduction in the production of plastics by the end of 2040.

Out of the 353 million tons of plastic waste produced globally each year, at least 19 million tons are mismanaged and leaked into the environment. 6 million tons of plastic waste end up in rivers and coastlines, and at least 1.7 million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean.

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Plastic accumulation in the marine environment, accounting for at least 80% of all marine pollution, has led to suffocation, entanglement, laceration, infections, internal injuries, and starvation for many aquatic and aquatic-dependent species. In fact, more than 17% of the species affected by oceanic plastic pollution are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

Additionally, plastic generally takes between 500-1000 years to degrade; even then, it becomes microplastics. Microplastics have been found to collect in our blood vessels leading to an increased risk of heart diseases such as heart attacks and strokes.

As a refresher, we consistently interact with hundreds of different plastic types categorized into 7 groups, but only a few are recyclable and/or reusable as follows:

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• Plastic Types 1 and 2 are the easily recyclable types such as soda cans, single-use water bottles, and detergent containers.
• Plastic type 5 is recyclable and reusable such as margarine containers and tupperware, though not all recyclers will accept this type.
• The harder to recycle type is plastic type 4 consisting of materials like plastic bags and six-pack rings, though they are reusable.
• Plastic types 3, 6 and 7 are extremely difficult to recycle and should avoid reuse. Plastic type 3 consists of PVC as used in credit cards or plumbing pipes; plastic type 6 encompasses Styrofoam; and plastic type 7 includes all other plastics such as BPAs and those found in CDs, sunglasses, and nylon.

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While some plastics are easy to recycle or reuse, following the 3 Rs of conservation (reduce, reuse, recycle), we can reduce our overall plastic use with some of these easy tips:

• Use reusable cloth bags when grocery shopping
• Use glass or ceramic containers for food storage
• Substitute to-go coffee cups and plastic water bottles with glass, ceramic, or steel containers
• Buy laundry detergent in boxes, not liquid in plastic containers
• Buy in bulk for refills
• Switch party decorations like balloons to fresh flowers and tissue pom poms or streamers

We encourage everyone, especially our employees, to reconsider their daily plastic usage and to participate in Earth Day activities like local recycling events, treating every day like Earth Day.

For more information regarding this year’s Earth Day “Planet vs. Plastic”, visit https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2024/.

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