The management of waste generated by ships has a unique characteristic: the operation doesn’t end when the garbage is unloaded. From that moment on, another journey begins, one that has been difficult to measure comprehensively and that can represent an opportunity to reduce emissions and recover materials.
With that approach, the Mexican company Maritime Procurement Services (MPS) will present SeaSustain in Singapore , a platform developed to track the journey of waste from its unloading 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 replacing new raw materials with recovered materials.
The proposal is particularly relevant in an industry that accounts for approximately 90% of global trade, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) . Furthermore, according to industry data, maritime transport generates about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In terms of waste, the challenge is not new. Annex V of the MARPOL Convention establishes measures to prevent pollution from ship-borne garbage and obliges governments to ensure adequate port facilities to receive such waste without causing undue delays to vessels.
The IMO acknowledged that the availability of reception facilities is a key element for the rules to be effectively enforced.
In this scenario, MPS’s proposal aims for an additional step: not only receiving and disposing of waste, but also generating information about its destination and environmental benefit .
“Waste doesn’t disappear when it’s unloaded from the ship; it just changes location. We track it, from the dock to the plant and from the plant to its final destination, and we turn that journey into data,” explained Alejandro Trillo, CEO of MPS.
The platform was developed based on the company’s own operations, which have accumulated a decade of data on ship waste management. Currently, MPS performs approximately 2,461 services to vessels annually in 14 ports across 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,” Trillo pointed out.
The challenge for the industry is significant because waste management is part of a chain that involves the ship, the port, service providers, receiving 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 network with industry stakeholders.
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