- 1975 #3 (32p.)
- Author(s): GESAMP
- Publisher(s): FAO
- Journal Series Reports and Studies
The dumping* of wastes into the sea is only one method of disposal of a material and should be carried out only after other alternative methods of dealing with the waste have been fully considered. Ideally, the only ultimate method of eliminating waste disposal of conservative substances is recovery and reutilization of the materials presently considered to be wastes; other disposal operations merely move material from one part of our environment to another. The decision to consider a substance a “waste” rather than a potential “natural resource” is based on economic rather than on scientific principles, because the technology to recover the material in useful form is either not available, or is more costly than the value of the recovered product…
The purpose of this report is to consider how the effects of waste disposal can be assessed and reduced to a minimum, and in particular, what scientific principles are involved in the selection of sites for dumping.
* The definition of dumping used by the Working Group is that given by the London Convention on the Dumping of Wastes at Sea (UN, 1972).