RMS St Helena - Doing our bit - Garbage Management

Being a passenger ship, the generation of large quantities of waste and garbage is inevitable.  To lessen the effects of damage to the environment, a 'Garbage Management Plan' has been drawn up, implemented and a 'Green Culture' actively promoted on board.  Besides 'ground food waste', no other form of garbage is permitted to be dumped over the ship's side, even if it is permissible by law! At the start of our voyages, a public address announcement is made informing passengers of our commitment to the protection of the environment and reminding them that the dumping of any garbage overboard is strictly against our policy and therefore prohibited. 

All generated garbage is carefully sorted and separated by ship's staff into common receptacles.  In the passenger accommodation areas, waste receptacles are combined to reduce confusion this is then separated by ship's staff for final storage.  In crew areas, six colour-coded receptacles are provided for various types of waste.  The colour code on the receptacle matches the colour of the bags in which the various types of garbage will be stored.  These include receptacles for medical waste, paper & cardboard, glass, metals & tins, aerosols & batteries and food wastes.  The garbage is then collected and taken along to larger separated receptacles on the fore deck to be stored until it can be safely landed ashore at a garbage reception facility.  These larger storage receptacles are also colour-coded further ensuring that the various types of waste remain segregated.

Medical sharps (i.e. hypodermic needles, swabs and syringes), used in the Ship's Medical Centre, are carefully stored in approved 'Sharps Boxes' and stored until they can be safely landed ashore to a dedicated medical waste disposal facility.