Sustainability

Shipboard Environmental Concerns

The officers and crew of the MV Explorer fully support international laws regarding the prevention of marine pollution.

The practice of Semester at Sea is to go beyond these regulations to include not disposing of any waste materials overboard. Whenever practical and possible, discharge will be made to approved facilities ashore. Efficient collection of waste requires separation at the source of these types of material: plastic; paper and other non plastic combustibles; tins/glass/cans; food waste; and medical and other hazardous waste.

Members of the shipboard community play an important role in reducing the production of waste onboard the ship by doing the following:

• Participants are encouraged to obtain and use their own mug and water bottle in order to reduce the amount of plastic or Styrofoam.
• Participants should be especially conscious of how much they consume and avoid wasteful practices.
• At each meal, take only small portions and return for seconds if still hungry.
• Be careful about wasting paper. In the computer lab, only print final copies of papers and print PowerPoint slides six per page rather than one per page.
• In port, participants should bring their own bag when shopping and politely decline plastic bags. Save any accumulated bags and newspapers and use them for packing material at the end of the voyage.
• Hand over used batteries and printer cartridges to the Purser's Desk to ensure proper disposal. Conserve water in ports to minimize domestic water.
• Consider taking shorter showers and avoid multiple showers in one day.

In many ways, the ship is a microcosm of our planet. Participants are encouraged to bring these environmentally-conscious practices home with them. Gaining an environmentally sensitive, global vision is an important lesson of the Semester at Sea experience.