Clean Ships, Clean Ports, Clean Oceans: Controlling Garbage and Plastic Wastes at Sea (1995)
Chapter: Analysis of Interventions
garbage handling practices is available from cruise line operators and printed sources.
Waste management practices on cruise ships vary, depending on company policies, geographical areas of operation, and the availability of adequate port reception facilities, but ships constructed recently are fitted with an array of garbage treatment equipment, and waste minimization and sorting procedures are elaborate (Whitten and Wade, 1994).
Control
The United States has direct enforcement authority over most of this fleet only in U.S. waters, as the majority of cruise ships fly a foreign flag. However, cruise ship operators typically are very image conscious and responsive to U.S. concerns. Recently., the threat of public embarrassment over citizen reports of Annex V violations has served as a control on Annex V compliance by cruise ships. Moreover, the cleanliness of the waters in which cruise ships sail is important to vessel operators, who are in the business of satisfying passenger expectations. Operators have employed a variety of strategies to comply with Annex V (see sidebar).
A major barrier to compliance in this sector lies in port reception facilities, which are rarely adequate to the task of serving a large passenger vessel. There are no reception facilities suitable for cruise ships, for example, at Mexican ports along the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico. No amount of control Can assure compliance if reception facilities are inadequate, although vessel operators may overcome this problem, at least in part, by treating garbage on board.
Analysis of Interventions
Table 4-8 lists possible interventions to improve Annex V implementation among cruise ships. Most of the technological, organizational, and educational options listed in the matrix have been tried, apparently with success; use of these strategies could be expanded.
With so many crew members and passengers aboard cruise ships and the constant turnover, ongoing education and training is particularly important. To foster recycling and reduce legal overboard discharges, crews and passengers could be informed about the benefits of recycling items, such as cans, that otherwise may be discarded. Education is so critical in this sector that it might be mandated; proposed MPPRCA amendments would require Annex V posters, placards, and briefings on foreign-flag vessels while in U.S. waters.
A key regulatory intervention would be to work on resolving difficulties related to port reception facilities. Some efforts are under way in this regard (see Chapter 7). In addition, garbage handling logs could be maintained on foreign-flag cruise ships, either voluntarily or, if the proposed MPPRCA amendments are
