MARPOL issues in Canary Islands ports: alternatives and optimization of energy management

Abstract

In Canary Islands ports, it is necessary to propose sustainable management systems in the sphere of port waste, as well as to make the authorities aware that such improvements are based on the new models of the circular economy. In the case of the port of Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife, it is a matter of providing new alternatives to deal with MARPOL waste. Ideally, these would be establishing a circular economy framework that could enable its electrical and thermal self-sufficiency through the recovery of waste (energy) in maritime transport. Many advantages are derived from this model, both from the point of view of management, where it is contemplated to provide a better service in the management of MARPOL V (waste generated by solid waste from ships that dock in ports) from ships that make use of its facilities and, therefore, contribute to the development of the Special Territorial Plan for Waste Management in Tenerife, in accordance with the European policies required for the coming years, as well as from an environmental and energy-saving point of view, since pollutant emissions are reduced as is the waste flow, that up to now was only for transport to the landfill.