Garbage in the Arctic

When operating in Arctic waters, a ship must adhere to MARPOL's regulation 4 located in Annex V.

The Polar Code states that food wastes must also meet the following requirements:

• Food waste can only be discharged when the ship is as far as possible from areas of ice concentration greater than 1/10, but never less than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land, ice shelf, or fast ice.
• Food wastes must be reduced to minute particles or fragments, or ground to small particles able to pass through a screen with openings 25mm or less.
• Food wastes cannot be mixed with any other kind of waste for discharge.
• Food wastes cannot be discharged onto ice.
• Animal carcasses cannot be discharged.

Cargo residues that cannot be recovered using methods that are commonly available for unloading are only permitted while a ship is en route and when they meet all of the following requirements:

• Substances classified as harmful are not included in cargo residues, cleaning agents or additives, or contained in hold washing water.
• Both the departure port and the next port of call are within Arctic waters, and the vessel will not leave Arctic waters between ports.
• Adequate facilities for reception are not available in the above ports.

When these conditions are met, discharge of this type must be done as far as possible from ice concentration greater than 1/10 and a minimum of 12 nautical miles from the nearest land, ice shelf, or fast ice.

To learn more about Polar Code visit our Polar Code Online Training web page.