Recycling is common in the cruise industry, with many ships equipped with advanced systems to reduce waste. However, in Australia, waste from international vessels is classified as biosecurity waste and cannot be recycled, unlike in many other countries where recyclable materials are separated and processed.
This raises the question: why can't Australia do the same?
This discovery gave cause for an investigation by Rebecca James, Senior Environmental Advisor for Fremantle Ports. Rebecca was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to travel to Singapore, Europe and North America in 2024 to benchmark waste and recycling practices from shipping to apply to the Australian context.
“Several years ago, I ran a program at Fremantle Ports, interviewing cruise ships about their future plans for controlling greenhouse gas emissions”, Rebecca details in her report.
“During inspections, I noticed that many visiting ships have advanced separation and recycling systems onboard. However, I also saw that the segregated recyclables were offloaded at the port, only to be mixed with general ship waste and sent to deep-burial landfill.”
This happens because Australia's biosecurity laws, under the Biosecurity Act 2015, classify waste from international vessels as biosecurity waste, preventing recycling.
Recognising the scale of the problem, Fremantle Ports launched recycling trials to separate and clear materials for recycling, with oversight from local biosecurity officers.
While these trials were successful in triggering national action, there were still challenges around transporting materials to recycling facilities. To better understand the logistics behind waste management, Rebecca realised she needed to visit countries with established maritime recycling operations to observe their practices.
Rebecca's report highlights key areas like regulation, port management and data, identifying opportunities to collaborate across sectors for sustainable maritime waste solutions. This could help accelerate Australia's circular economy transition and create economic and social benefits.
“My research has shown that there are standard industry practices that can be applied so that valuable resources from cruise ship waste are able to be recycled and recovered, while maintaining necessary biosecurity controls and standards,” says Rebecca.
“I’m delighted that the report is being well received and already have met with regulators supportive of implementing recommendations at a state and national level - feels like there is a real appetite for change,” says Rebecca.
Since the publication of her report, Rebecca’s focus has been on disseminating the published report and engaging with stakeholders.
“A big focus now will be continuing to implement changes at Fremantle Ports to pilot initiatives that can be broadly rolled out across industry and ports.”
“I’m excited about the opportunity to leverage the Ports Australia Environment, Planning and Sustainability Committee members to collaborate on solutions and drive change.”
Rebecca’s report has now been published and is available at - Rebecca James - Churchill Trust
Applications for the Churchill Fellowships are open 28 February - 1 May 2025 www.churchillfellowships.com.au
