The impacts of solid waste from cruise ships are catastrophic to marine life.

According to a
report written by Dr. Michael Herz for The Ocean Conservancy, ingesting plastic, styrofoam
and other materials represents serious threats to marine life; they can damage an animal’s
digestive tract, cause starvation by blocking food intake, inhibit growth, molting,
reproduction, buoyancy and ultimately survival (18). He went on to claim that many cruise
ships are now retaining some types of solid waste on board to dispose at the end of each
voyage. Professor Ross Dowling in his book, like Herz, continue to explain that ingestion of
solid waste represents serious threats to marine life, he further went on to state that marine
mammals, fishes and sea turtles can be injured or killed from entanglement with plastics and
other solid wastes (334). Plastic is generally a durable material which is resistant to the
natural biodegradation process. Consequently, it does not readily break down in the
environment. Thevenon et al, in their report, supported both Herz and Dowling, and added
that an accumulation of plastic debris in the marine environment can result in habitat
degradation whereas floating plastics create new habitats and enable transport of invasive
species over long distances (27).