Discussion: Cruise Ship Waste Management

Ship to Shore flexible Recycling DEERBERG-SYSTEMS sets the course for the future of waste management onboard cruise ships

With a round table discussion in Hamburg, DEERBERG-SYSTEMS said it is addressing the questions of tomorrow gathering cruise lines, ship yards, ports and disposal companies.

Parliamentary State Secretary Uwe Beckmeyer underlines the importance of the topic for the industry in his greeting words, "protecting our marine environment requires the co-action of all stakeholders in the maritime industry. I therefore warmly welcome the DEERBERG-SYSTEMS initiative to bring experts of shipping companies, waste management companies, ports, and shipyards together in one place to jointly discuss new shipbuilding concepts and how to make the operation of vessels more environmentally friendly. Previous workshops organized by DEERBERG-SYSTEMS in Miami in 1992 and Hamburg in 2002, have already provided important recommendations. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy contributes to achieving these environmental goals by implementing programs such as the “Maritime Technologies of the next Generation” as part of its research funding. In addition, programs run by the KfW banking group facilitate the financing of environmental investments in shipyards and ships."

Jochen Deerberg, Owner & CEO of DEERBERG-SYSTEMS sets the stage for the discussion in his introduction outlining that today´s environmental consciousness, legislation, ship owners own initiatives and further developed technology induce the ship owners and shipyards to install a high standard, sustainable and flexible Waste Management Systems on board. "A cruise ship will be operating for 30 to 40 years and must be totally flexible in handling the Waste Management Process onboard. With the new level of our DEERBERG MULTI PURPOSE WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FLEX (MPWMS® FLEX) a ship is able to operate and combine three basic scenarios to address these needs“, Deerberg refers to his newest and most flexible technology. Based on a 3,000 pax ship the new system could save 2,700 tons CO2, 720 trees or supply energy for 180 family homes each year, lowering the operating costs by 100,000 Euro.

Addressing the environmental needs is a challenge and a chance for the industry. That is the main message from the discussion among cruise lines, ship yards, ports and recycling companies. Monika Griefahn, Chief Sustainability Officer at Germany’s AIDA Cruises refers to actions already taken by AIDA on ships like AIDAmar: "AIDA has joint forces with Deerberg at an early stage to develop a single line incinerator instead of two, gaining space to add additional recycling and storage components.”

Build at Papenburg’s Meyer Werft the ship for AIDA Cruises were one of the first to address the needs of the future. "We are happy to have such strong suppliers in our backyard giving us the power to be a market leader in the cruise industry,” said Ralf Sempf, Supply Chain Manager at Meyer Werft. On the land side ports and recycling companies in Germany are ready to take their part in the process.

“In the past years we invested in logistics and infrastructure of our port and with our new cruise terminal to be completed in 2015 we will set new standards," said Wolfgang Hurtienne, Managing Director at Hamburg Port Authority. Hamburg is ready for the new system options and recyclers like the Eckelmann-Gruppe are welcoming the extensive options for efficient sorting onboard.

"Clean sorted materials are the base for a better recycling on land and can even generate revenue for the cruise lines,” said Christoph Buss.

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