8.2 MARPOL Annex V: Garbage Management & Shipboard Waste

8.2 MARPOL Annex V: Garbage Management & Shipboard Waste

Solid waste generated on board ships represents a major environmental hazard to oceanic and coastal ecosystems. Discarded plastics, synthetic packaging, and lost fishing gear do not biodegrade; instead, they persist for decades, degrading into toxic microplastics, suffocating coral reefs, entangling marine mammals, and poisoning fish and seabirds. In 2013, the IMO brought into force comprehensive revisions to MARPOL Annex V (Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships), shifting the international regulatory philosophy from a regime where garbage disposal at sea was generally permitted with specific prohibitions, to a strict regime where all garbage discharge into the sea is completely prohibited unless explicitly permitted.

Trainee General Purpose (GP) Ratings bear direct, hands-on responsibility for garbage collection, sorting, compacting, and disposal across the galley, crew mess rooms, accommodation, and open deck maintenance stations. Ratings must know exactly what may be discharged, where it may be discharged, and what must be strictly held on board for shore reception.

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1. Scope, Definitions, and the Absolute Global Ban on Plastics

Under MARPOL Annex V, Garbage is defined as all kinds of food wastes, domestic wastes, operational wastes, all plastics, cargo residues, incinerator ashes, cooking oil, fishing gear, and animal carcasses generated during the normal operation of the ship and liable to be disposed of continuously or periodically. Garbage does not include fresh fish and parts thereof generated by fishing activities, or substances covered by other MARPOL Annexes (such as mineral oil under Annex I or raw sewage under Annex IV).

The Absolute Global Ban on Plastics

MARPOL Annex V establishes an uncompromising, worldwide prohibition on discharging plastics into the sea. Discharging any plastic into the marine environment is strictly banned everywhere, at all times, without exception, whether inside or outside Special Areas, regardless of distance from land or vessel speed:

• Synthetic ropes, polypropylene mooring lines, nylon hawser off-cuts, and plastic wire cores;
• Synthetic fishing nets and monofilament lines;
• Plastic garbage bags, stretch film, shrink wrap, and plastic strapping bands;
• Polystyrene foam (Styrofoam) cups, takeaway containers, and packaging foam pellets;
• Plastic drink bottles, disposable cutlery, plates, cups, and food wrappers;
• Incinerator ashes resulting from burning plastic products or PVC cables.

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2. Statutory Discharge Table for Non-Plastic Wastes

For non-plastic garbage, MARPOL Annex V permits limited discharges into the sea under strict conditions governing vessel operational state, comminution (grinding), and distance from the nearest land.

Special Areas Under MARPOL Annex V

The designated Special Areas under MARPOL Annex V are:

1. Mediterranean Sea area
2. Baltic Sea area
3. Black Sea area
4. Red Sea area
5. "Gulfs" area (Persian / Arabian Gulf)
6. North Sea area
7. Antarctic area (south of $60^\circ\text{ S}$)
8. Wider Caribbean region (including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea)

Where Special Area requirements are effective, ground food waste may be discharged only en route, as far as practicable and at least 12 NM from land or ice shelf. Non-HME deck washwater is also allowed. Hold washwater requires unrecoverable non-HME residues and non-HME agents, both ports within the same Special Area, no transit outside it, and no adequate reception at either port; discharge must be en route, as far as practicable and at least 12 NM from land or ice shelf. Red Sea requirements took effect on 1 January 2025. Designation alone does not activate Special Area discharge rules; additional Polar Code rules apply in polar waters.

Fixed and Floating Platforms

Fixed or floating drilling rigs and production platforms operating at distances exceeding $12\text{ NM}$ from the nearest land, and all ships moored alongside or within 500 meters of them, are subject to special restrictions: the only permitted discharge into the sea is food waste that has passed through a food grinder or comminuter with screen openings no greater than $25\text{ mm}$. Discharging unground food waste or any other garbage from offshore platforms is completely prohibited.

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3. Statutory Shipboard Documents and Placards

To ensure crew and passengers comply with Annex V, MARPOL requires specific operational hardware and statutory documentation on merchant ships:

1. Garbage Placards

• Application: Mandatory for every ship of $12\text{ meters}$ or more in length overall (LOA) and on all fixed/floating offshore platforms.
• Purpose: Durable display placards notifying the crew and passengers of the legal garbage discharge prohibitions and disposal requirements.
• Placement: Prominently displayed in working and living areas where garbage is generated, including crew mess rooms, officers' dining saloons, galleys, navigation bridge, engine control room, and main deck garbage storage lockers.
• Language: Written in the official working language of the ship's crew, and on ships engaged in international voyages, accompanied by English, French, or Spanish.

2. Garbage Management Plan (GMP)

• Application: Mandatory for every ship of $100\text{ Gross Tonnage (GT)}$ and above, every ship certified to carry 15 or more persons, and all fixed or floating platforms.
• Content: A written operational manual approved by the company that outlines clear shipboard procedures for waste minimization, collection, separation, compacting, shredding, onboard storage, and statutory disposal.
• Designated Officer: Formally designates the officer in charge of coordinating the plan (usually the Chief Officer on deck and the Second Engineer in engine spaces).

3. Garbage Record Book (GRB)

• Application: Since 1 May 2024, mandatory for every ship of $100\text{ Gross Tonnage (GT)}$ and above, every ship certified to carry 15 or more persons engaged in voyages to another MARPOL Party’s ports or offshore terminals, and every fixed or floating platform.
• Structure (IMO Two-Part Format):
  • Part I: Applies to all vessels. Records discharges to sea, discharges to port reception facilities or barges, incinerations, and accidental losses of garbage categories A through I (Plastics, Food, Domestic, Cooking Oil, Incinerator Ash, Operational Waste, Animal Carcasses, Fishing Gear, and Electronic Waste [E-Waste]).
  • Part II: Applies to vessels carrying solid bulk cargoes (such as bulk carriers). Records discharges and cargo hold washings of Category J (non-HME cargo residues) and Category K (HME cargo residues).
• Logging Details: Every operation must be logged with the date, time, vessel position (latitude and longitude or port name), garbage category letter, estimated volume discharged or incinerated in cubic meters ($m^3$), and signed by the officer in charge of the operation.
• Master's Endorsement: The Master must inspect and sign each completed page of the Garbage Record Book.
• Retention Period: The completed Garbage Record Book must be kept onboard the ship for a minimum period of two (2) years following the date of the last entry, alongside shore reception facility waste-delivery receipts. Bunker delivery notes have a separate three-year retention period after delivery.

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4. Shipboard Waste Segregation and Color Coding

Segregate garbage at the point of generation using the ship’s Garbage Management Plan and the labels on its receptacles. Colors are ship-specific, not a universal MARPOL code. The following diagram is one example only; use the actual labels in the galley, workshops, mess rooms and engine spaces:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                        SHIPBOARD WASTE SEGREGATION STATIONS                             |
+-------------------+--------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+
|    RED BIN        |     GREEN BIN      |      BLUE BIN      |        YELLOW BIN         |
|   (Plastics)      |    (Food Waste)    | (Domestic & Paper) |    (Hazardous & Oily)     |
+-------------------+--------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+
| - Plastic bottles | - Fruit / veg peels| - Office paper     | - Oily cotton rags        |
| - Synthetic rope  | - Meat / fish scraps - Cardboard boxes  | - Used oil filters        |
| - Bubble wrap     | - Leftover food    | - Glass bottles    | - Chemical / paint cans   |
| - Plastic bags    | - Bread rinds      | - Clean tin cans   | - Aerosol spray canisters |
+-------------------+--------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+
| DISPOSAL:         | DISPOSAL:          | DISPOSAL:          | DISPOSAL:                 |
| Shore facility    | Comminuter or      | Shore facility or  | Shore hazardous facility  |
| ONLY (Never sea)  | discharge at sea   | approved onboard   | ONLY (Never sea / no open |
|                   | per distance rules | incinerator        | burning)                  |
+-------------------+--------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+