Clean Ships, Clean Ports, Clean Oceans: Controlling Garbage and Plastic Wastes at Sea (1995)
Chapter: Intelligence
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GARBAGE DISPOSAL ON CRUISE SHIPS Implementation of Annex V In this sector is facilitated by the partnership the cruise Industry has cultivated with naval architects, shipyards, and equipment manufacturers to develop and improve shipboard garbage handling and treatment technology. On vessels built before 1970, refrigerated storerooms are used to hold food-contaminated materials until their disposal in an APHIS-approved port reception facility. On vessels built between 1970 and the ratification of Annex V in 1987, Incinerators are installed to destroy garbage that cannot be discharged overboard. On ships built recently, the garbage handling system is elaborate and often integrates different types of machinery, such as Incinerators, pulpers, and grinders. (The Coast Guard intervened on behalf of cruise ships in Alaska, where use of Incinerators is prohibited; the Coast Guard insisted that the state either waive the rule or provide suitable APHIS-approved disposal facilities.) Cruise ship operators also are trying to reduce their reliance on plastic products, often substituting paper products. Plastic bags have been eliminated on older vessels. Almost all ships have discontinued use of foamed plastic materials and excess packaging such as individual bottles of. shampoo. Some garbage, particularly food waste, is run through a pulper and then discharged overboard where permitted by Annex V. In addition, some recreational activities have been modified. For Instance, the once-common practice Of driving golf balls off the deck into the open ocean is now rare. |
adopted, by mandate. Another possibility would be to pursue an international requirement that flag states issue waste management certificates to cruise ships, as suggested earlier with respect to cargo ships. Economic interventions include imposing internal (company) fines for violations of garbage handling rules, and improving garbage treatment equipment to reduce its costs.
Research Vessels and Their Ports of Call
Intelligence
Many research vessels are supported or owned and operated by the federal government, so information on vessel activities and personnel behavior can be obtained, even though vessels may be away from shore or in foreign waters for extended periods of time. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has conducted a fleetwide assessment of pollution prevention needs and a survey of available equipment; Annex V compliance strategies rely on food grinders and garbage compactors or incinerators (Art Anderson Associates, 1993). The EPA's research vessel stores garbage for entire two-week voyages, not a particularly sanitary solution. The EPA also has reviewed and revised its pur-
TABLE 4-8 Applying the Hazard Evolution and Intervention Model to Passenger Cruise Ships and Their Itinerary Ports
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Hazard Evolution Model |
Human Behavior that Encourages Generating Garbage |
On-board Generation of Garbage |
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Intervention Model |
Modify Behavior that Encourages Generating Garbage |
Reduce Garbage Generation during Voyage |
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Technological |
Eliminate single-portion cosmetic amenities packaged in plastic. Discourage suppliers from delivering ship's stores packaged or bundled in plastic. Encourage suppliers to adopt alternate delivery packaging. |
Eliminate disposable containers. Modify galley equipment or food and beverage equipment to reduce amounts of single- use items. Invest in reusable containers |
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Organizational and Operational |
Senior management commitment to Annex V compliance must be visible and convened into management directives. |
Sort garbage at the site of generation. Use only vendors committed to packaging and storage techniques that minimize waste. |
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Educational (Target Population/Contents) |
Instill respect for clean ocean among passengers and crew. Impose expectation that each can comply with Annex V. |
Train crew to sort garbage for recycling and proper disposal. |
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Hazard Evolution Model |
Breakdown in Compliance |
Discharge of Garbage into Sea |
Exposure to Discharged Garbage |
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Intervention Model |
Prevent Breakdown in Compliance |
Block Discharge of Garbage into Sea |
Block Exposure to Discharged Garbage |
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Technological |
Keep shipboard systems well- maintained |
Develop and install appropriate garbage handling equipment or integrated waste management systems. |
Pretreat legal discharges by grinding and shredding garbage, to minimize drifting in the water. Provide incinerator with ash storage space (to retain ash for off- loading into port reception facility or legal discharge in deep water). |
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Organizational and Operational |
Audit shipboard practices regularly. Provide many trash cans. |
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Prohibit discharges unless supervised by appropriate officer. Establish shipboard collection of recyclable materials for return to port side recycling networks. |
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Educational (Target Population/Contents) |
Train crew in on-board garbage management. Provide Annex V placards, posters, and public address announcements |
Develop recycling programs for items (cans) that may be discharged overboard legally. |
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Hazard Evolution Model |
Human Behavior that Encourages Generating Garbage |
On-board Generation of Garbage |
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Intervention Model |
Modify Behavior that Encourages Generating Garbage |
Reduce Garbage Generation during Voyage |
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Government and Private Regulation and Enforcement |
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Economic (Market Forces) |
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chasing practices (e.g., no foamed plastic cups are used) and has reduced the amounts of packaging and plastics brought on board. Less is known about non-federal research vessels.
Garbage handling can be a problem due to vessel mode of operation. While at sea, sampling or monitoring tasks may require that a research vessel remain on station or restrict its motion and curtail overboard discharges; the vessel may be unable to return to port before garbage storage space is full. Oceanographic vessels are notoriously cramped, with every on-board space obligated to science missions or operational needs. Moreover, the duration of some expeditions—many over 10 days and some over 50 days—makes garbage storage difficult and untenable, and the mission profile of some oceanographic vessels leaves little space for garbage treatment equipment. Anecdotal reports and the NOAA survey (Art Anderson Associates, 1993) suggest that on-board equipment, such as incinerators, tends to be primitive.
The demands of Annex V are particularly taxing for research vessels operating in extreme situations. The NOAA ship Surveyor, homeported in Seattle, is obligated to conduct scientific missions in the Antarctic, designated as a special
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Hazard Evolution Model |
Breakdown in Compliance |
Discharge of Garbage into Sea |
Exposure to Discharged Garbage |
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Intervention Model |
Prevent Breakdown in Compliance |
Block Discharge of Garbage into Sea |
Block Exposure to Discharged Garbage |
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Government and Private Regulation and Enforcement |
Make illegal overboard discharge of garbage a firing offense. Require crew and passenger education for entry into U.S. waters or ports. Require flag states to issue waste management certificates. |
Foster development of reliable and affordable port reception facilities. Keep records of garbage transactions. |
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Economic (Market Forces) |
Impose internal fines for violations of garbage handling rules |
Improve on-board garbage treatment equipment, to reduce costs. Establish port side recycling networks. |
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area (with zero-discharge restrictions). On the positive side, because research vessels are operated by small, cohesive communities, informal networks exist for the sharing of information on strategies for reducing waste and overboard discharges.
Some research vessels operate in the vicinity of home ports. Other vessels rarely visit their home ports and only infrequently call at any port. In instances where operations center around a home port, shoreside managers can address the unique challenges of complying with Annex V. For example, in Seattle, NOAA's waste reception requirements are met by a commercial contractor at NOAA's Pacific Marine Center, so it may be possible for managers to audit informally the materials discharged by their vessels.
In general, while sensitivity to environmental concerns has increased within the research fleet in recent years, there are anecdotal reports of continuing overboard disposal of items such as used, expendable scientific instruments. Annex V does not address disposal of research equipment but IMO implementation guidelines encourage the return of garbage to port reception facilities ''whenever practicable.''
