Sludge Watch ==> Treat stludge and trash the way some ships do....

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060807/COLUMNISTS03/608070327/1121/NEWS

August 7, 2006
  HAWAII'S ENVIRONMENT
How state should get rid of trash

By Jan TenBruggencate
Honolulu Advertiser Columnist




Hawai'i government agencies, businesses and residents would do well to treat 
their trash the way some of the state's biggest shipping firms do.

Norwegian Cruise Line, for example, has an officer in charge of recycling 
who oversees the separation of all recyclable products in the waste stream. 
Plastics are categorized and baled. Bunches of aluminum cans are crushed 
into briefcase-sized blocks. Glass is crushed and bagged. All are offloaded 
for recycling.

The ship's cooking oil is stored and turned over weekly to Pacific Biodiesel 
for conversion into fuel. The ship incinerates paper and cardboard, which 
takes up a great deal of space otherwise, the firm's officers said.

"Sixty to 70 percent of our solid waste is recyclable," said Dennis Yoshida, 
Norwegian's safety and environmental systems manager.

Matson Navigation's ships have a similar system for its cargo ships.

"Matson has a zero-discharge policy. We put nothing over the side" except 
food scraps and fully treated wastewater, said Dale Hazlehurst, Matson's 
marine manager. Waste brought to Honolulu is recycled or delivered to the 
city's H-Power plant, he said.

I toured the Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America Thursday to view a 
state-of-the-art marine wastewater system, built by the Norwegian firm 
Scanship Environmental. It is capable of processing 850 tons of sewage 
daily. Sewage is piped through aerated tanks where natural bacteria break it 
down. Liquids and solids are separated, and liquids are further filtered and 
disinfected with ultraviolet light. Ships' officers say it's probably clean 
enough to drink (although no one does). It is pumped over the side only 
after the ship is at least 12 miles from shore.

"Even if they did accidentally discharge in port, it's probably cleaner than 
what's coming out of our streams," said Dennis Lau, head of the state 
Department of Health's Clean Water Branch.

Pride of America chief engineer Matthew McKeon said that the sludge — solids 
left after the biological treatment and separation from liquids — 
represented 2.1 percent of the ship's discharge in recent weeks.

Lau said the treated sludge probably has a lower bacterial count than the 
material released from the state's sewage treatment plants, many of which 
pump treated effluent into the ocean.

On one of the Norwegian ships, sludge is dried and incinerated aboard. On 
the other two, it is pumped overboard at least 12 miles from shore.

If you have a question or concern about the Hawaiian environment, drop a 
note to Jan TenBruggencate at P.O. Box 524, Lihu'e, HI 96766 or 
jant at honoluluadvertiser.com. Or call him at (808) 245-3074.