Poster abstracts and manuscripts from the Third International ...

Topping, Paul
40
National Marine Plastic Debris Program
Environment Canada, Hull, Quebec, Canada
Environment Canada initiated the Marine Plastic Debris Program to
address the issue as part of a commitment made under the Green
Plan, a major environmental funding effort launched in 1990 by
the Government of Canada. The Program will focus on collecting
survey data and promoting awareness of pollution prevention, and
linkages will be made with broader waste reduction efforts. Much
of the Program is derived from recommendations made to Canada's
federal government at a 1989 workshop held in Halifax, which
involved almost all interested groups. Goals and objectives have
been set out in broad terms for the next four years, and
activities are now underway; A project to survey the extent of
plastic debris in Canada's marine environment has begun -and some
communications services that promote awareness of the issue
nationally are now available, namely a newsletter, the Messages
Program, and ENVIRO-TIPSHEET. Products that deliver a preventive
message are being developed and include a pamphlet, poster and
educational survey kit.
Zilligen, Jil and Barbara Miller
Zero Solid Waste Discharge Program
Center for Marine Conservation, San Francisco, California, USA
Each year, International Coastal Cleanup data reveal that a
significant portion of marine debris results from improper waste
disposal by ships. Because marine debris poses many problems and
because there are now eight ocean regions designated "Special
Areas," or no discharge zones, the Center for Marine Conservation
(CMC) began a Zero Solid Waste Discharge Program. The program
sought to determine how shipboard waste could be better handled
so that no solid waste is disposed of at sea. CMC worked with
Matson Navigation Company to develop a model zero discharge
program in which no solid wastes, except food wastes, would be
dumped overboard. This program has become an example for ships
operating in the Gulf of Mexico, which has recently been
designated a Special Area under MARPOL Annex V.
During this study, CMC analyzed what type of goods are brought
onto the ship; the types of packaging used, and the types of'
waste generated on board a typical vessel. The waste generated
on board during an average cruise was catalogued and the
composition and amounts of the principal wastes generated were
calculated. From this information, wastes that could be reduced
or eliminated were identified as were ways in which APHIS l wastes
could be reduced, and what type of reception facilities would be
necessary to accommodate the trash.
CMC then worked with Matson to prevent as much potential trash as
possible from being brought aboard in the first place by:
identifying unnecessary packaging and requesting less packaging