.1 In 1995, IMO adopted, by resolution MEPC.65(37), amendments to Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto MARPOL 73178) which requires that every ship of 400 tons gross tonnage and above and every ship certified to carry 15 persons or more shall carry a garbage management plan and shall be provided with a Garbage Record Book. In addition, every ship of 12 metres or more in length overall shall display placards to notify the crew and passengers of the ship's disposal requirements. A new regulation 9 to Annex V of MARPOL 73/78 enters into force effective 1 July 1997 for new ships and 1 July 1998 for ships built before 1 July 1997.
.2 These Guidelines provide direction on complying with the mandatory requirements for the development of a ship's garbage management plan, and are intended to assist the shipowner/operator in the implementation of regulation 9(2) of Annex V of MARPOL 73/78. It is assumed that the writer of the garbage management plan is familiar with the requirements of Annex V of MARPOL 73/78 and the IMO 'Guidelines for the Implementation of Annex V of MARPOL 73/78”.
.3 A ship's garbage management plan should contain a list of the particular ship's equipment and arrangements for the handling of garbage, and may contain extracts from and/or references to existing company instructions.
2 REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
Regulation 9(2) of Annex V of MARPOL 73/78 reads as follows:
“Every ship of 400 tons gross tonnage and above, and every ship which is certified to carry 15 persons or more, shall carry a garbage management plan which the crew shall follow. This plan shall provide written procedures for collecting, storing, processing and disposing of garbage, including the use of the equipment on board. It shall also designate the person in charge of carrying out the plan. Such a plan shall be in accordance with the guidelines developed by the Organization and written in the working language of the crew.
3 PREVENTION OF POLLUTION FROM GARBAGE
.1 To achieve cost-effective and environmentally sound results, many garbage management planners use a combination of three complementary techniques to manage garbage:
.1.1 source reduction,
.1.2 rerycling, and
.1.3 disposal.
.2 When requisitioning stores and provisions, shipping companies should encourage their suppliers to apply the substitutionary principle in order to reduce, to the greatest possible extent and at an early stage, the generation of garbage on board ships.
