Ocean dumping

DEFINITION: Disposal of waste products in the world's oceans

The disposal of sewage, dredging spoil, garbage, chemicals, and other waste into the ocean disrupts individual ecosystems and kills fish and marine life. Although many marine pollution treaties and laws have been written to regulate dumping, such treaties and legislation have proven difficult to enforce.

The ocean is the final stop for much of the garbage generated on land. For much of history, waterways of all kinds were seen as natural outlets to dispose of waste, and although regulatory measures have sought to limit such activity, much waste continues to reach the ocean. Sewage processing centers often release treated wastewater into the sea. Many waste management officials at overflowing landfills have looked to the ocean as an alternative to burying rubbish and debris. Oil tankers have rinsed and flushed holding compartments in the open ocean. Fishing vessels dump scrap parts and unwanted or spoiled fish into the water. For decades, these and other sources of pollution were thought to have little effect on the world's oceans because they are so large. Whether in large or small amounts, however, marine dumping upsets the balance of ocean ecosystems, altering the environments to which fish, plants, and other marine organisms are accustomed. Some survive the changes, but others do not.

Much of the garbage dumped directly into the oceans has come from ships and boats (although marine debris continues to make its way from the land into oceans via storm drains, winds, and beach littering). The number of fishing boats, naval vessels, cruise ships, cargo ships, and recreational boats taking to the sea daily is estimated to be in the millions. Many of the larger vessels are like floating towns. With thousands of people on board, these ships can quickly accumulate large amounts of sewage, garbage, and other waste, and space for storing it is often limited. Some ships, such as fishing and naval vessels, remain on the open ocean for weeks or months at a time; it is therefore not surprising that many of these vessels solve their garbage problems by dumping waste overboard. Although the disposal of sewage and wastewater in this way is illegal, many seafaring vessels ignore such laws because they are difficult to enforce.

Industrial facilities have found the ocean useful for the disposal of waste products as well, especially for materials considered too hazardous to dispose of on land. Companies and governments have sealed waste chemicals into metal containers and dumped them onto the ocean floor. There, the life cycles of crabs, ground fish, and other marine-floor creatures are disrupted by these alien containers. Over time some of these containers may begin to leak, releasing radioactive waste or chemicals harmful to the marine environment.

Antidumping Treaties

The environmental threat posed by ocean dumping was apparent by the early 1970s and led to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, also known as the London Convention, in 1972. One of the earliest global treaties for the protection of the marine environment, it entered into force in 1975. The London Convention bans the dumping of certain hazardous materials and requires permits for the dumping of other materials. The 1996 London Protocol, which entered into force in 2006, revised the 1972 treaty to prohibit all dumping except for the following: dredged material; sewage sludge; fish wastes; vessels and platforms; bulky items made up primarily of iron, steel, and concrete; inert inorganic geological material such as mining waste; organic material of natural origin; and carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere and introduced into the ocean as part of a carbon sequestration system. By 2021, eighty-seven nations were parties to the 1972 convention, and in 2022, fifty-three were parties to the 1996 protocol.

Of the types of garbage that have been dumped in the world's oceans, plastics are among the most dangerous to marine creatures. Negative effects on the environment from plastic pollution are significant because plastic does not degrade readily and can persist in the ocean for decades, if not centuries. Marine birds and mammals often mistake plastic bags and pellets for food. Sea turtles and whales have died after eating plastic bags that became entangled in their intestines. Marine birds and seals have starved to death after their beaks or snouts have become stuck in plastic rings such as those used to join beverage six-packs. Plastic that has broken down into smaller particles may not kill marine life outright, but it presents a dietary source of toxins that becomes increasingly concentrated farther up the food chain.

It took decades for any real action to be taken regarding plastic pollution in the oceans. During the late 1980s, it was estimated that 7.3 billion kilograms (16 billion pounds) of plastic was being dumped into the ocean annually. Much of this waste poses heath and environmental risks beyond the plastic itself. Medical equipment, such as needle syringes, sample vials, and instrument wrappers, is often made of plastic and has been known to wash up on beaches months after being dumped into the deep ocean. In 1988, for example, miles of coastline along the eastern shore of the United States was littered with huge quantities of medical waste, including AIDS-tainted blood.

In December 1987, the US Congress passed the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act, which banned the dumping of plastics in the ocean and required shorelines to house reception facilities for shipboard-generated plastic waste. In December 1988, an annex to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (known as MARPOL, for "marine pollution") banned the dumping of plastics anywhere in the ocean. Referred to as Annex V of the MARPOL treaty, it also set severe restrictions on other garbage discharges within coastal zones and special areas affected by heavy maritime traffic or low water exchange; required ships to have garbage management plans and to maintain written records of all garbage disposal and incineration operations; and required governments to provide garbage reception facilities at ports. By 2019 the MARPOL treaty and Annex V had both been signed by over 170 countries.

In the United States, ocean dumping is regulated by the London Convention through the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), also known as the Ocean Dumping Act, as well as by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Dumping of materials, including medical waste, most industrial waste, sewage sludge, high-level radioactive waste, oil, known carcinogens, and persistent materials such as plastics is prohibited (except in some cases on an emergency basis). However, certain materials are legally allowed to be disposed of in the ocean. These include uncontaminated dredged sediment, fish waste, vessels, and human remains for burial at sea. The United States Coast Guard is tasked with surveillance of ocean dumping activity, although the vast scope of marine activity makes oversight and enforcement difficult.

The Fate of Floating Debris

In 1997, oceanographerCharles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation reported finding a massive area of floating marine trash between California and Hawaii. Dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it proved to be only one of several such areas where wind and ocean currents have trapped and concentrated anthropogenic (human-caused) debris. Although visions of a huge island of floating trash have captured the public imagination, the Pacific Garbage Patch is not actually visible in aerial photographs or satellite images. Rather, it is (as the Ocean Conservancy has described the area) a "chunky soup" of small, broken-down plastic particles intermixed with larger, recognizable objects such as rain boots, food containers, and toothbrushes. Samples have revealed that in some spots within the Pacific Garbage Patch, plastic is six times more abundant than plankton by weight.

While marine trash can remain caught up in ocean gyres (massive rotating current systems) far from human habitation, other currents carry much of the debris back to shore. A number of conservation groups annually clean this litter from beaches in public-participation events, and many record the amounts and types of materials recovered. For example, the Ocean Conservancy reported that on a single fall day in 2009, volunteers around the globe collected more than ten million individual pieces of trash weighing a total of 3.4 million kilograms (7.4 million pounds) from the world's beaches. By number, the most abundant items recovered that year were cigarettes and cigarette filters, plastic bags, and food wrappers and containers. "Legal and illegal dumping of domestic and industrial garbage, construction materials, and large household appliances" accounted for more than 198,000 of the items found, including cars and car parts, tires, and 55-gallon drums. In 2021, the Ocean Conservancy joined the viral #TeamSeas campaign, which raised thirty million dollars to clean the oceans of garbage. The Ocean Conservancy pledged to clean fifteen million pounds of trash from the oceans by 2024. Plastics and microplastics remained the biggest threat to the oceans in 2023. It is estimated there were between 75 and 199 million tons of plastics in the oceans, with 33 billion pounds of plastics entering the oceans every year.

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