CARNIVAL Cruise Line Australia has announced a partnership with Soap Aid, which will see the cruise line collect tonnes of discarded soap bars to be recycled and donated to disadvantaged communities.

Soap Aid is a not-for-profit organisation focussed on saving children’s lives through improved hygiene.

Carnival is to collect discarded soap from guest and crew staterooms on Carnival Spirit. The soap then will be remoulded and packaged for distribution.

The program is to be extended to Carnival Splendor when it joins the Australian fleet later this year, sailing from Sydney

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Soap Aid founder Mike Matulick said the partnership with Carnival was “a unique and exciting opportunity”.

“Half of the 1.5m children that die from preventable diseases in the poorest countries every year could be saved by the use of handwashing with soap,” he said.

“The economic and social impact of this is huge. Just by washing hands it can kill many germs that cause disease, and by doing that, kids can attend more school, their opportunities are enhanced, parents are able to work more so household incomes improve, too.”

The program is one of several initiatives already onboard to reduce waste disposal and recycle additional products used onboard.

Carnival recently announced a global partnership with Clean the World to help with soap recycling on ships based in the United States.