Swedish waste management system provider, Uson Marine (UMS), has launched a food waste shredder with integrated macerator designed for use onboard ships and offshore platforms.
The two stage process of the Uson food waste shredder, which is suitable for newbuilds or retrofitting, can handle all food waste including bones, hard shells, fish skins, long fibre food waste and large quantities of pasta, potatoes and rice.
With tighter discharge restrictions on raw food waste that came into force on 1 January 2013, the system makes it easier for operators to comply.
The shredder has been installed on MS Fram, a 12,700 tonne cruise ship owned and managed by Norway’s Hurtigruten ASA.
Chief engineer, Frank Hermansen, Hurtigruten, said: “The shredder gives us an even bigger margin of safety when it comes to larger pieces of food waste being put through the system. We can now be 100% sure that we are complying with MARPOL regulations.”
The high capacity shredder, designed for heavy duty shredding with minimum noise, is equipped with a Hardox steel shredder head. It can be the main collection point and replace two or several macerator stations, which minimises operation time and space requirements onboard.
After passing through the shredder head, the shredded material is collected into a second hopper connected to the macerator. The ground up waste can then be discharged overboard or stored in a holding tank when the vessel is operating within an area where discharge is prohibited. This eliminated manual handling and cold storage of difficult waste and eliminates any unpleasant odours.
