Chapter VIII — Impacts of Marine Debris 



Annex V, are obligated to develop and enforce 

 domestic rules that meet the provisions set forth in 

 that Annex. The United States is among the approxi- 

 mately 70 nations that have formally accepted Annex 

 V. To carry out its obligations under Annex V, the 

 U.S. Congress passed the Marine Plastic Pollution 

 Research and Control Act in 1987. That Act amends 

 the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, which 

 provides authorization to the U.S. Coast Guard to 

 implement provisions related to the entire MARPOL 

 Convention in this country. 



New Amendments to Annex V 



In 1988, when the Coast Guard began developing 

 U.S. regulations to implement Annex V, it considered 

 the need for provisions that would require certain 

 vessels to post placards on garbage discharge restric- 

 tions, to carry vessel garbage management plans, and 

 to maintain records of when and where garbage was 

 discharged. While these measures were considered 

 important for achieving the goals of Annex V, provi- 

 sions on these matters were not adopted because 

 explicit authority for doing so was not set forth in 

 either Annex V or related domestic legislation. 



Because of their importance, the Coast Guard 

 therefore developed and submitted a paper concerning 

 these needs to the Marine Environment Protection 

 Committee at its 34th session in July 1993. The 

 paper recommended that Annex V be amended to add 

 provisions on each of the three needs. The Commit- 

 tee agreed to consider the matter and, at its next two 

 meetings, specific language was developed and 

 proposed. At its 37th session on 11-15 September 

 1995, the Committee unanimously adopted the pro- 

 posed amendments to Annex V adding provisions to 

 require placards, management plans for handling ship- 

 generated garbage, and maintenance of a garbage 

 disposal record book. The amendments will enter into 

 force on 1 July 1997. During the intervening period, 

 parties to the Annex are to adopt conforming domestic 

 laws and rules to implement them. 



The new amendments to Annex V require the 

 following: (1) all vessels 12 meters or longer must 

 post placards aboard ship advising passengers and 

 crew of the restrictions on discharging garbage at sea; 

 (2) all vessels greater than 400 gross tons or certified 



to carry 15 or more people must carry a garbage 

 management plan that explains crew responsibilities 

 for handling, processing, storing, and disposing of 

 ship-generated garbage; and (3) all vessels greater 

 than 400 gross tons or certified to carry 15 or more 

 people, and also engaged in voyages to ports under 

 the jurisdiction of another party to Annex V, must 

 carry a record book that tracks certain information on 

 garbage incineration or discharge events (i.e., the 

 dates and location, a description of the garbage, and 

 the estimated amount of garbage discharged). 



Navy Compliance with Annex V 



Annex V exempts all government ships, including 

 military vessels, from complying with its require- 

 ments. However, when Congress passed the Marine 

 Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act, it directed 

 that U.S. Government ships, including U.S. Navy 

 vessels, comply with its provisions by the end of 

 1993. In response, the Navy initiated efforts to 

 reduce its discharge of garbage, particularly plastics, 

 at sea. Among its first actions were steps to reduce 

 the amount of disposable plastics brought on board, 

 and to begin designing suitable shipboard garbage- 

 processing equipment, such as pulpers, compactors, 

 and a thermal plastic processor that compresses plastic 

 wastes into sanitized blocks for easier storage. It also 

 instituted a practice of storing all food-contaminated 

 wastes for at least the last three days ships are at sea, 

 and all non-food contaminated plastics for at least the 

 last 20 days at sea. 



Although substantial progress was made in meeting 

 Annex V discharge requirements, the Navy was 

 unable to meet the 1993 compliance deadline. Re- 

 strictions that apply in special areas prohibiting the 

 discharge of garbage other than food wastes proved 

 particularly difficult. Among the reasons cited in this 

 regard were the need for long voyages away from port 

 in listed special areas (e.g., the Mediterranean and the 

 Caribbean Seas) and the limited space on military 

 ships to add waste processing equipment and store 

 generated waste. 



Therefore, as part of the National Defense Authori- 

 zation Act passed late in 1993, Congress extended the 

 Annex V compliance deadlines for Navy ships and 

 directed the Navy to submit a report to Congress by 



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