What Do Cruise Ships Do With Human Waste

An image supposedly showing a cruise ship dumping human waste into the ocean near a coastal city is frequently shared on social media.

What do cruise ships do with human waste. Title I of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act makes it illegal to transport garbage from the United States for the purpose of dumping it into ocean waters without a. Cruise ships are equipped with water treatment systems that clean the human waste black water and grey water water that goes down the sinks and showers before it gets treated and combined and released back into the ocean. The Bottom Line is that International regulations do allow cruise ships to discharge sewage and certain types of garbage at sea.

Illustration by Lucy Engelman. To function far from shore floating burgs like these rely on washing. This water is pumped into the sea.

According to the Cruise Lines International Association its member Ships are mandated to treat sewage on board ships before discharging either at. But beyond that point its essentially a free-for-all. The emissions produced are harmful to human health and the environment.

However many companies will set their own regulations that their ships have to comply with. They also emit air pollutants to the air and water. Due to food safety regulations most cooked food cannot be carried forward.

Federal law requires that cruise ships only dump treated wastewater if they are within three nautical miles of shore. 21000 gallons of human sewage one ton of solid waste garbage 170000 gallons of wastewater from showers sinks and laundry 6400 gallons of oily bilge water from the massive engines 25 pounds of batteries fluorescent lights medical wastes and expired chemicals and 8500 plastic. According to the Environmental Protection Agency in the course of one day the average cruise ship produces.

Cruise ships create pollution problems as supersized as themselves. In the crew mess Ive seen enormous amounts of good food being dumped in dustbins since people serve themselves way mo. Sewage isnt the only pollution that cruise ships produce.