Waste Management and Trash On Navy Aircraft Carriers

[ecofriendlyrich]

I was watching Carrier, a new reality television series on PBS channel about sailors aboard the USS Nimitz. And in one of the segments they talk about how waste is managed aboard a Navy ship. From what I gather the trash is sorted into dunnage (which is food scraps), metal/glass, paper and plastic. But then it shows the guy take the burlap bag of metal cans and wood and just throw it down the chute into the water.

What is the point of sorting the garbage if they are going to throw it out to sea anyways. Then the guy says the Navy has been a steward of the environment. And that they sometimes see GreenPeace activists and doesn't think their protests are justified.

What the heck exactly happens to the garbage generated on Navy ships when out on deployment?

 

[xbreaka]

Anything not biodegradable they don't throw overboard. So plastics,rubber anything like that. Wood will break down in water, along with most metals without causing much damage to the ocean.

 

[H20man]

From what I gather the trash is sorted into dunnage (which is food scraps), metal/glass, paper and plastic. But then it shows the guy take the burlap bag of metal cans and wood and just throw it down the chute into the water.

What is the point of sorting the garbage if they are going to throw it out to sea anyways.

The point of sorting the garbage is to determine what is allowed to be thrown over the side and what is not.

All of the ships whose nations recognize the IMO (basically if a nation is in the UN the IMO is recognized) are bound to follow MARPOL 73/78.
IMO MARPOL link
http://www.imo.org/conventions/contents.asp?doc_id=678&topic_id=258

Garbage falls under Annex V.
Here is a link to a table of what is allowed and what is not and associated distances.
http://ocean.floridamarine.org/efh_coral/pdfs/Habitat_Plan/HabitatPlanAppL.pdf

Plastics are prohibited in all areas.

Assuming they were not in a special area, that burlap bag with metal and wood is perfectly legal.

Merchant ships dispose of waste this way as well. Made cleaning up after our BBQ's really easy, all the bottles went over the side.

 

[FLYTPAY]

What is the point of sorting the garbage if they are going to throw it out to sea anyways. Then the guy says the Navy has been a steward of the environment. And that they sometimes see GreenPeace activists and doesn't think their protests are justified.

What the heck exactly happens to the garbage generated on Navy ships when out on deployment?

We TRY to be stewards of the environment but I can guarantee that we will not risk the security of a ship to include the health of the crew to keep all of our garbage aboard. It is dumped in accordance with maratime law. GreenPeace can protest all they want but if they endanger a US warship, well, I am sure you have seen the water-cannon video. Now with you being eco-friendly/extreme, and having a desire to be a naval aviator, I dare you to ask what we do with the fuel we cannot land aboard the carrier with.:icon_rage

 

[Schnugg]

Back in the day...everything went over the side when 50 miles out to sea...AIGs would follow us and pick at anything that floated.

Now on carriers, we hold all trash on station.

We burn incinerate all paper products...(incinerator TAD duty is clearly not a primo TAD job), we melt all plastics in to large cylinders about 18" in diameter and 4 inches tall. We hold the "pucks" until we reach shore and they are turned over for recycling.

When in port (CONUS/OCONUS) all trash goes off the ship to pier or barge alongside.

Overall a smellly rank job working trash detail...should be on Dirtiest Jobs show.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Having been made to sit through a six-hour eco-consciousness-raising session run by the CA EPA because one of my deck seamen accidentally knocked a bucket of paint overbaord while we were pierside in San Diego, didn't report it and the wrong person saw it happen...yeah, the Navy really does take the laws seriously. We couldn't even do fresh-water washdowns in port because of environmental laws (never mind it's exactly what happens when it rains anyway...).

So, yes, my spotted-owl-protecting friend, the Navy is extremely strict about following the rules. They're US laws and international treaties - not some policy we randomly pulled out of our ass. If Greenpeace has a problem with those laws, they need to get the laws changed.

 

[NavAir42]

Overall a smellly rank job working trash detail...should be on Dirtiest Jobs show.

Anyone know how to get ahold of Mike Rowe?

 

[BACONATOR]

Is anyone else surprised there hasn't been a picture of Tony Soprano posted yet, or is it just me? Where are the threadjacks???

 

[Scoob]

Anyone know how to get ahold of Mike Rowe?

I don't think that would do much to help the recruiting efforts these days.

 

[Tyler]

Anyone know how to get ahold of Mike Rowe?

I just took a shit. He's probably playing with it.

 

[A4sForever]

Back in the day...everything went over the side when 50 miles out to sea........

And he means EVERYTHING !! (Sometimes even closer than 50 miles ... :icon_wink)

 

[H20man]

Now on carriers, we hold all trash on station.

Or pass it off to any MSC ship the carrier is UNREPing with. :icon_rage

Gotta love coming up to the bridge and smelling rotting garbage in the Arabian sun.

Speaking of dumping random stuff:
On one of my ships we dumped a Nordatrac over the side, along with a few other old pieces of gym equipment.

 

[phrogpilot73]

I once witnessed 100+ cases of beer dumped over the side. Enroute to a port call. Criminal.

 

[A4sForever]

I once witnessed 100+ cases of beer dumped over the side. Enroute to a port call. Criminal.

That's strange -- as we normally brought 100+ cases of beer (and everything else) ABOARD during a port call ...

My, my ... how times change.

 

[BACONATOR]

So what about people? If the person is a big enough shitbag, do they throw SAILORS overboard too?