Interview with Rebecca James - Cruise ship waste disruptor

Rebecca James has dedicated over 30 years across the mining, government and industry sectors, to implementing practical solutions for enhanced environmental outcomes in projects and operations.

As Senior Environmental Advisor for Fremantle Ports, Rebecca is focused on issues such as marine environmental protection, decarbonisation and embedding circular economy principles. She is passionate about bringing relevant stakeholders together and sharing knowledge to collaborate on innovative solutions.

Rebecca has a Bachelor of Science from Murdoch University in Environmental Science, and Population, Resources & Technology with postgraduate qualifications in leadership and management. She is a current member of Ports Australia Environment, Planning & Sustainability Working Group and Climate Change & Decarbonisation sub-committee.

When it comes to waste, Rebecca has a track record of challenging the status quo. In the northern goldfields she pioneered the backloading of supply trucks with valuable scrap metal from remote mine sites, where the proceeds were donated to the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. In the south-west of the state, she partnered with the ACTIV foundation to establish industry placements for retrieving timber packaging for reuse in ACTIV workshops. In Fremantle, she has already led a pilot program to maximise recycling from cruise ships whilst maintaining strict biosecurity standards.

Rebecca was awarded a 2023 Churchill Fellowship to research best practice waste management and recycling practices from cruise ships in Singapore, Europe and North America. This research will examine alternate ways to minimise solid waste from cruise vessels, to apply to the Australian context.

You see, cruise ships have incredibly sophisticated segregation and recycling systems on board. However, due to biosecurity regulations in Australia, these recyclables are usually required to go to autoclaves and deep burial landfill. They don’t actually get to be recycled.

Biosecurity plainly is very important to protect our country’s agriculture and environment from pests and diseases. However, Rebecca is determined to challenge the status quo and find a solution that enables valuable resources to be recycled. And that’s what her Churchill research will aim to do.

The outcomes of her research will hopefully inform the development of a nationally consistent recycling framework for international ship waste in Australian ports.

Fremantle Shipping News’ Editor, Michael Barker, and Shipping Correspondent, Jean Hudson, were very pleased to meet Rebecca James this week to make this podcast where we discuss her Churchill Fellowship, the cruise ship waste management challenges at hand, and just what a new system would look like after she has disrupted the status quo. Fascinating stuff. Lots to be learned.

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