Yahoo News 10 Apr 08;
Dumping of waste by ships in the Mediterranean Sea will become illegal as of May 1, 2009, the United Nations Environment Programme said Thursday.
"This represents major progress in efforts to protect the Mediterranean environment, because ships often jettison their garbage into the sea," Luisa Colasimone, spokesman for the Athens-based Mediterranean Action Plan agency, told AFP.
A statement said the new rules prohibit the ditching of "all plastics, including but not limited to synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets and plastic garbage bags".
It also extends to "all other garbage, including paper products, rags, glass, metal, bottles, crockery, dunnage (loose material used in ship storage), lining and packing materials".
The application of International Maritime Organization measures had been suspended for years to allow for improvements to inadequate garbage collection facilities in ports around the sea's coasts.
