The US Navy afloat solid waste management challenge

The U.S Navy has developed and implemented a comprehensive Solid Waste Management Program to comply with "Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships" (Title 33 United States Code Chapter 33), as amended, which ratified "International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships" (MARPOL 73/78). Through this program, the U.S. Navy is backfitting its surface fleet with plastic waste processors, pulpers, and shredders to manage nonhazardous solid waste by 31 December 2000. Future Navy ship designs are building upon the lessons learned from the fleet modernization process and are pushing technology to achieve the Chief of Naval Operations, Director Environmental Protection, Safety and Occupational Health (CNO N45) vision for the environmentally sound ship of the 21st century. Evolutionary development of waste transport systems and thermal destruction technologies are essential for realizing this vision. This paper provides an overview of the program and a glimpse of future expectations for management of solid waste through the Navy Integrated Waste Management System. The cornerstone of this system is a compact Plasma Are Waste Destruction System capable of destroying solid waste, liquid waste, oily waste, and medical waste.