What Do Cruise Ships Do With Human Waste

The sewage dumped into the sea teems with bacteria heavy metals pathogens viruses pharmaceuticals and other things that can harm the health of both humans and aquatic life.

What do cruise ships do with human waste. Its the discharges from the floating cities they call cruise ships. The ship has a few tanks that are refered to as contaminated holding tanks they work a lot like a septic tank in rural areas the waste is treated with chemicals to break it down then it is pumped over the side way out at sea or if they can in port they will hook up sewage lines and pump it into the local sewage system in whatever port they are. Due to food safety regulations most cooked food cannot be carried forward.

Most ships under the umbrella of the Cruise Lines International Association have stopped discharges of solid waste in the Caribbean according to a statement from the Florida group. Title I of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act makes it illegal to transport garbage from the United States for the purpose of dumping it into ocean waters without a. But beyond that point its essentially a free-for-all.

They also emit air pollutants to the air and water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency in the course of one day the average cruise ship produces. Cruise ships can transport around 3000 people and these people generate about 30000 gallons of human waste water and produce seven tons of garbage and solid waste every day.

Sewage isnt the only pollution that cruise ships produce. FOE also cites data from the Environmental Protection Agency EPA which shows an average cruise ship with 3000 passengers and crew produces about 21000 gallons of sewage a day enough to fill 10 backyard swimming pools in. Cruise ships pollute the air we breathe Cruise ships are also responsible for significant air pollution from the dirty fuel they burn which can lead to serious human health problems especially in port communities.

A general belief is that these enormous boats simply dump raw sewage and other pollutants straight into the oceans. Illustration by Lucy Engelman. What do cruise ships do with human waste.

In fact cruise lines are highly-regulated and work with environmental government agencies to ensure their waste practices are approved. They also often operate diesel engines to generate electrical power even when docked. Cruise ships are not allowed to discharge waste while docked at port.