The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships (MARPOL) is an international agreement that recognizes
that vessels present a significant and controllable source of pollution
into the marine environment (Centre for Marine Conservation
1994; Derraik 2002). In 1973, Canada joined other nations
in drafting the Convention (and is signatory to it), which prohibits
disposal at sea of persistent pollutants; it restricts any deliberate
disposal at sea of wastes or other matter from vessels, aircraft,
platforms, or other man-made structures at sea (Pearce 1992).
Annex V of the MARPOL Convention, called the London Convention,
specifically prohibits the disposal of plastics and garbage from
ships (Centre fot Marine Conservation 1994).Transport Canada
reports that if MARPOL restrictions were not in place, up to 35
percent of pollution in the world’s marine environment would be
the direct result of marine transport (Transport Canada 2010).
Derraik 2002 reported that the legislation is widely ignored and
ships are still estimated to discard 6.5 million tons per year of plastics
The compliance of individuals is partly a question of economics
and logistics; in order to discourage waste disposal in the marine
environment, ships need to have access to adequate
and affordable waste reception facilities
at ports (National Academy of Sciences 2008).
Canada joined other nations in drafting the Convention