- The MARPOL Convention sought to eliminate and reduce the amount of garbage being dumped into the sea from ships.
- Under Annex V of the Convention, garbage includes all kinds of food, domestic and operational waste, excluding fresh fish, generated during the normal operation of the vessel and liable to be disposed of continuously or periodically.
- Annex V severely restricts discharges of garbage from ships into coastal waters and "Special Areas".
- Deals with different types of garbage and specifies the distances from land and the manner in which they may be disposed of;
- The most important feature of the Annex is the complete ban imposed on the disposal into the sea of all forms of plastics.
The latest amendments to the annex of the protocol, In force since 2011 defines 9 categories of garbage coming from vessels
Vessels must keep a record book of the generate waste in this categories:
