• 3 min de lectura
• 3 min de lectura
Waste management generated by ships has a peculiarity: the operation does not end when the trash leaves the ship. From that moment, another journey begins that has been difficult to measure comprehensively and can represent an opportunity to reduce emissions and recover materials.
With this focus, the Mexican company Maritime Procurement Services (MPS) will present SeaSustain in Singapore, a platform developed to track the journey of waste from its discharge at port to its final destination to convert it into environmental information.
The company was selected as one of the 15 finalists of the PIER71 Smart Port Challenge 2026 and is the only Latin American company participating in this stage of the international maritime innovation program. The final is scheduled for November 11 in Singapore.
SeaSustain seeks to identify what happens to each material once it is removed from a vessel, how much can be recovered or recycled, and what emissions can be avoided by substituting new raw materials with recovered materials.
The proposal gains relevance in an industry that accounts for around 90% of global trade, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Furthermore, according to sector data, maritime transport generates about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Regarding waste, the challenge is not new. Annex V of the MARPOL Convention establishes measures to prevent pollution by garbage from ships and obliges governments to ensure adequate port facilities to receive such waste without causing undue delays to vessels.
The IMO recognized that the availability of reception facilities is a key element for the rules to be effectively complied with.
In this scenario, MPS's proposal points to an additional step: not only receiving and disposing of waste, but generating information about its destination and environmental benefit.
"Waste does not disappear when it leaves the ship; it only changes place. We track it, from the dock to the plant and from the plant to its final destination, and convert that journey into data," explained Alejandro Trillo, CEO of MPS.
The platform was developed based on the company's own operation, which has a decade of information on ship waste management. Currently, MPS performs around 2,461 services to ships annually in 14 ports in the Pacific, Gulf, and Caribbean.
"Every ton we recover ceases to be waste and becomes raw material that replaces virgin materials. That is a climate lever that until now has been very difficult to measure in the maritime sector," said Trillo.
The challenge for the industry is relevant because waste management is part of a chain that involves the ship, the port, service providers, reception facilities, and subsequent treatment or recycling processes.
The PIER71 Smart Port Challenge seeks technological solutions that address real challenges in the maritime industry and includes categories such as green maritime technologies, new port models, smart shipping, and digitalization. Selected teams participate in a market validation program and linkage with industry players.
