Interview with Rebecca James – Cruise Ship Waste Disruptor

As Senior Environmental Advisor for Fremantle Ports, Rebecca James 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.

When it comes to waste, Rebecca has a track record of challenging the status quo. In the northern goldfields of Western Australia 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 is now about to take up the 2023 Churchill Fellowship she was awarded 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.

Fremantle Shipping News’ Editor, Michael Barker, and Shipping Correspondent, Jean Hudson, were very pleased to meet Rebecca James to make this podcast where we discuss her Churchill Award, 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.

You can read the full story on Fremantle Shipping News here.