Waste Reception Facilities

Waste reception facilities safely receive, contain, treat, and dispose of ship generated waste, including regulated biosecurity waste (IMO, 2017). This may include, among others, designated reception facilities at first point of entry ports, secure handling of food waste from international vessels, incineration, sterilisation, or approved disposal methods, segregation of hazardous, recyclable, and quarantine waste, tracking systems for waste collection and treatment, and scaled solutions for small ports.

For DMC ports, adequate waste reception facilities can prevent introduction of pests and pathogens via waste, reduce marine pollution and illegal discharge at sea, protect coastal communities and ecosystems, support compliance with international maritime regulations, and improve port hygiene and environmental performance (IMO, 2017).

Port waste reception facilities are required under MARPOL Annex V (garbage), Annex IV (sewage), Annex I (oil), Annex II (noxious liquid substances), and Annex VI (air pollution, including ozone depleting substances and exhaust gas cleaning residues) for vessels delivering waste to ports. Adequate facilities are a state obligation under MARPOL, with Contracting Parties required to ensure that ports provide reception facilities adequate for the needs of vessels calling at those ports.

Biosecurity considerations are particularly important for ship generated garbage, which may contain food waste from international voyages potentially carrying plant and animal diseases of concern to importing countries. Food waste from international vessels is typically treated as regulated biosecurity waste and requires approved disposal methods, such as incineration, sterilisation, or deep burial, depending on national requirements.

Hazardous waste streams from vessels, including oily bilge water, sludge, chemical residues, batteries, and other hazardous materials, require specialized reception facilities with safe containment and treatment or disposal pathways. MARPOL requires adequate reception facilities, and the IMO Guidelines for Ensuring the Adequacy of Port Waste Reception Facilities (Resolution MEPC.83(44)) set out what adequacy means, and the IMO Port Reception Facility Database tracks facility availability globally.

For small ports with limited reception facility capacity, scalable solutions include, among others, secure containerised waste holding for transfer to central treatment, coordination with nearby larger ports for specialized waste streams, and use of mobile service providers. Port Waste Management Plans prepared under IMO Guidelines establish the framework for adequate reception facility provision at a given port.

Examples of comprehensive waste management at international ports include DP World Santos in Brazil, whose Zero Landfill project received a SEAL Business Sustainability Award (DP World, 2025, p. 11), and major European ports with integrated liquid and solid waste reception infrastructure.