Angela, CUR- Regulations

The other day at the open house for the new IMES facility, after my presentation on "Ocean Plastic on Florida's Beaches", someone asked me if I think stricter (or maybe they said "more"?) regulations would prevent ships from dumping garbage out at sea. I've been pondering this as I've been watching my fellow earth inhabitants and even though - probably because I've basically been born and raised a military "brat"- I have this strong need to abide by rules and regulations, it seems not every person shares these feelings, especially when time, money, or some other gain is involved. 

So, I've come to the conclusion that stricter or more regulations would not solve the problem because who will pay to have them enforced out in international waters? If caught, will the financial slap on the hand be big enough to make an impact? Based on research I did for a presentation on cruise ship pollution, the fines incurred for not abiding by regulations seemed minimal in comparison to the profits. Will ports employ "waste accountants" that keep journals on plastic materials brought on and taken off the ship to ensure none was disposed of at sea? 

Instead, if every ship had something comparable to the plastic-to-oil machine featured in the video below, the owners/captains/proprietors may have a profitable incentive to keep plastic waste out of the ocean.  As a long-term goal, however, we need to address and eliminate the source of the problem: disposable plastic.