SotS: Shipboard Plastic Processing

Credit: Petty Officer 1st Class Stacy Atkins Ricks | Date Taken: 03/16/2021
210316-N-IK388-001 NORFOLK (Mar. 16, 2021) Ted Brown, an environmental public affairs specialist with U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC), and Carroll Sandidge, an environmental protection specialist with USFFC, discuss the U.S. Navy's commitment to proactive environmental stewardship through the use of plastics waste processors. The Navy uses plastics waste processors to compress and melt shipboard-generated plastic waste into dense, sanitary disks suitable for long-term storage. The plastics waste disks are stored until the ship arrives at a port where they can be offloaded and properly disposed, resulting in zero plastics being discharged overboard. SotS is designed to showcase the Navy’s efforts to mitigate the potential environmental effects of activities without jeopardizing the safety of Sailors or impacting fleet readiness. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Stacy Atkins Ricks/Released)