Just curious.. what do they do with the garbage

There must be an extraordinary amount of garbage generated on a cruise ship. How is the garbage handled ...incinerated ? Unloaded at the end of a voyage and removed by local sanitation dept..?. Does Hal compost and recycle.?:) Just curious.

A lot of it is compacted and incinerated right on the ship. There are various international laws about dumping at sea, and some dumping can actually be done if it is far enough from land, but as I understand it HAL makes sure nothing gets dumped at sea.

When you think about all the self-contained activities a ship has to provide 24/7, it makes one wonder how they do it most of the time so well.

And certainly when things go wrong, it is amazing they ever went right so often it raised our expectations to an unrealistic pefection. And it all needs to take place whether the seas are smooth or if they are rocking and rolling.

Maybe this self-contained sheltering is all part of the mystique of the cruise experience.

A ship the size of the HAL Vista Class ships generates around 10 tons of waste every 24 hours.

Food waste is the largest part of that, at around 6 tons. Most of that waste is leftover food, which is mixed with water, pulped in a grinding machine, and then usually pumped into the sea.

Some cruise lines press the food waste in a giant trash compactor, dry it, and then burn it to produce hot water for your shower.

Waste water is the second biggest part of onboard waste. Most modern cruise ships have a 4 stage sewage treatment plant that produces drinking quality water in the final stage. This water is pumped into the sea.

The waste solids from the sewage plant are dried and burned to produce hot water.

All aluminum is compacted and sold ashore for re-cycling.

All other metals are stored for disposal ashore.

Glass is pulverized and off-loaded for disposal ashore.

All paper and other burnable material is burned in an incinerator and the heat used for hot water.

Most plastic cannot be burned due to toxic gases and residues left in the incinerators. The plastics are bundled up and offloaded ashore by licensed waste handlers.

Hazardous chemicals (photo concession, spa, pools, paint, and engine room) are stored for disposal ashore. Licensed hazardous chemical handlers are paid an absolute fortune to dispose of this waste.

A ship the size of the HAL Vista Class ships generates around 10 tons of waste every 24 hours.

Food waste is the largest part of that, at around 6 tons. Most of that waste is leftover food, which is mixed with water, pulped in a grinding machine, and then usually pumped into the sea.

Some cruise lines press the food waste in a giant trash compactor, dry it, and then burn it to produce hot water for your shower.

 

Waste water is the second biggest part of onboard waste. Most modern cruise ships have a 4 stage sewage treatment plant that produces drinking quality water in the final stage. This water is pumped into the sea.

The waste solids from the sewage plant are dried and burned to produce hot water.

 

All aluminum is compacted and sold ashore for re-cycling.

All other metals are stored for disposal ashore.

Glass is pulverized and off-loaded for disposal ashore.

All paper and other burnable material is burned in an incinerator and the heat used for hot water.

Most plastic cannot be burned due to toxic gases and residues left in the incinerators. The plastics are bundled up and offloaded ashore by licensed waste handlers.

 

Hazardous chemicals (photo concession, spa, pools, paint, and engine room) are stored for disposal ashore. Licensed hazardous chemical handlers are paid an absolute fortune o dispose of this waste.

Thank you so much for this information.. not only have you answered my question but I am so reassured by how the refuse is handled.

However six tons of food waste per ship per day..... Jeepers that would feed a lot of hungry people...I had no idea it would be that much:o Rather a sobering thought.

If you should happen to have your television on the channel that gives info about the ship, there is a short portion that shows how the garbage is handled and how the water and waste systems work.

Very enlightening.

However six tons of food waste per ship per day..... Jeepers that would feed a lot of hungry people.

Where do you think the third-tier cruise lines get their stuff??

A lot of it is compacted and incinerated right on the ship. There are various international laws about dumping at sea, and some dumping can actually be done if it is far enough from land, but as I understand it HAL makes sure nothing gets dumped at sea.

 

When you think about all the self-contained activities a ship has to provide 24/7, it makes one wonder how they do it most of the time so well.

 

And certainly when things go wrong, it is amazing they ever went right so often it raised our expectations to an unrealistic pefection. And it all needs to take place whether the seas are smooth or if they are rocking and rolling.

 

Maybe this self-contained sheltering is all part of the mystique of the cruise experience.

So very true Swissmyst.:)

Where do you think the third-tier cruise lines get their stuff??

You are a very bad boy, go to your room.:D

If you should happen to have your television on the channel that gives info about the ship, there is a short portion that shows how the garbage is handled and how the water and waste systems work.

 

Very enlightening.

Thanks ,I will take a peek our next cruise.

Colleen

However six tons of food waste per ship per day..... Jeepers that would feed a lot of hungry people...I had no idea it would be that much:o Rather a sobering thought.

If you think a Vista has about 2500 people on it, that 6 tons is 4.8 lbs per person. I would think some of that waste is bones, peels, cores, and other non-edible parts of food.

Ever wonder why the took the trays away, and how that might affect the amount of waste generated?

Colleen, next time you find yourself on a dam ship, take an in-depth look at the Daily Program. Usually towards the end of the cruise, the ship's Environmental Officer hold a presentation, complete with power-point. Lots of interesting "behind the scenes" stuff including waste disposal, black water, gray water, you name it!:)

................Ever wonder why the took the trays away, and how that might affect the amount of waste generated?

Dude, exit stage right!:eek: You're killing me:D

A ship the size of the HAL Vista Class ships generates around 10 tons of waste every 24 hours.

Food waste is the largest part of that, at around 6 tons. Most of that waste is leftover food, which is mixed with water, pulped in a grinding machine, and then usually pumped into the sea.

Some cruise lines press the food waste in a giant trash compactor, dry it, and then burn it to produce hot water for your shower.

 

Waste water is the second biggest part of onboard waste. Most modern cruise ships have a 4 stage sewage treatment plant that produces drinking quality water in the final stage. This water is pumped into the sea.

The waste solids from the sewage plant are dried and burned to produce hot water.

 

All aluminum is compacted and sold ashore for re-cycling.

All other metals are stored for disposal ashore.

Glass is pulverized and off-loaded for disposal ashore.

All paper and other burnable material is burned in an incinerator and the heat used for hot water.

Most plastic cannot be burned due to toxic gases and residues left in the incinerators. The plastics are bundled up and offloaded ashore by licensed waste handlers.

 

Hazardous chemicals (photo concession, spa, pools, paint, and engine room) are stored for disposal ashore. Licensed hazardous chemical handlers are paid an absolute fortune to dispose of this waste.

One question I have is: what happens when people with babies who aren't potty trained bring little blow-up pools, fill it with water, let their little darlings do whatever they do in the water, and then the parent disposes of it by dumping down a drain. Are the drains dumped down to the sea? Part of the waste water disposal system? I'm curious about this every time I see posters talk about bringing blow-up pools for their small children and the effect on the ship's disposal/treatment. I always go, "Ewww..." when I see this recommendation but I could be very wrong.

Dude, exit stage right!:eek: You're killing me:D

My DW says I am an incurable smart a**. I sense you suffer from the same condition!:D

Colleen, next time you find yourself on a dam ship, take an in-depth look at the Daily Program. Usually towards the end of the cruise, the ship's Environmental Officer hold a presentation, complete with power-point. Lots of interesting "behind the scenes" stuff including waste disposal, black water, gray water, you name it!:)

We'll check it out this Sept on the Zuiderdam..thanks for the heads up.:)

DH would enjoy that kind presentation..

I saw a show on TV not too long ago about the behind-the-scenes workings of Queen Mary 2. One of the segments was about how they dealt with all the waste. They've got a really elaborate system set up and I found it really interesting. I wish I could remember what channel it was on...

Bruce, great info.

 

One question I have is: what happens when people with babies who aren't potty trained bring little blow-up pools, fill it with water, let their little darlings do whatever they do in the water, and then the parent disposes of it by dumping down a drain. Are the drains dumped down to the sea? Part of the waste water disposal system? I'm curious about this every time I see posters talk about bringing blow-up pools for their small children and the effect on the ship's disposal/treatment. I always go, "Ewww..." when I see this recommendation but I could be very wrong.

Pam,

It depends on where they dump it.

If the water goes into a drain located inside the ship, it goes into the ship's waste water system.

If the water goes into a drain located on the outside of the ship, it goes straight into the sea.

I saw a show on TV not too long ago about the behind-the-scenes workings of Queen Mary 2. One of the segments was about how they dealt with all the waste. They've got a really elaborate system set up and I found it really interesting. I wish I could remember what channel it was on...

Saw that one also Di, HD Net or HDTHR (down here)

Saw that one also Di, HD Net or HDTHR (down here)

Okay, I'm officially impressed with your memory. ;) It's HDTH here in the DFW area.

Ever wonder why the took the trays away, and how that might affect the amount of waste generated?

A university cafeteria found 35% less food waste when they took away the trays and made people use plates instead - they took less and ate more of what they took. Good formula for reducing ........ waist. ;)

Ever wonder about what they did 35 years ago? As it thappens my cousin was on a caribbean cruise (dont recall the C/L name) and he was taking a cigarette smoke toward the rear of the ship....about midnite. All of a sudden he says there were really huge garbage bags come floating past the ship, about 25 of them. He followed to where they were coming from and saw some ship mates pitching them overboard. His questioning the following day revealed that, yes, they did this every day!! YIKES!!

A lot of it is compacted and incinerated right on the ship. There are various international laws about dumping at sea, and some dumping can actually be done if it is far enough from land, but as I understand it HAL makes sure nothing gets dumped at sea.

 

When you think about all the self-contained activities a ship has to provide 24/7, it makes one wonder how they do it most of the time so well.

 

And certainly when things go wrong, it is amazing they ever went right so often it raised our expectations to an unrealistic pefection. And it all needs to take place whether the seas are smooth or if they are rocking and rolling.

 

Maybe this self-contained sheltering is all part of the mystique of the cruise experience.

What ??

Colleyberry----Tomorrow night (Wednesday), the Discovery Channel is presenting a programme which deals with the behind the scenes activity on the Oasis of the Seas. It starts at 8:00 Eastern, 9:00 Atlantic.

Maybe there will be a section on dealing with trash as it surely is such an important part of the whole operation.