The practice of discharging waste palm oil into the sea by vessels transporting the widely-used commodity may be included in a revised sustainability standard to be drafted by the industry’s lead certification body, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), next year.
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RSPO, which certifies 20 per cent of the world’s palm oil as environmentally and socially sustainable, said it is exploring how waste dumping could be incorporated into its supply chain certification (SCC) standard. The revision cycle of SCC is due to start in the first half of 2025.
The certifier’s statement follows two recent incidences of palm oil dumping reported off the coast of Malaysia. Long oil slicks were identified by Indonesia-based resort owner Andrew Dixon in satellite images provided by maritime monitoring non-profit SkyTruth.
The owner of the vessel, Wilmar, said cleaning its cargo tanks was common industry practice and in full compliance with marine pollution regulations. It did not report the practice in its latest sustainability report, stating that waste discharge was not considered “material”. Wilmar is an RSPO member and 11 per cent of the palm oil it trades is RSPO certified.
RSPO told Eco-Business that its members are accountable for implementing environmental and social standards “not lower than” those set in RSPO’s principles and criteria (P&C) for responsible cultivation, which includes requirements for waste management.
“Specifically for processors and traders, consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, this requirement states that a waste management plan which includes reduction, recycling, reusing, and disposal based on toxicity and hazardous characteristics, is documented and implemented,” RSPO said.
RSPO members must make their waste management practices publicly accessible, the organisation added.
In a revised version of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) regulation released in 2021, palm oil – and other vegetable oils such as soybean and olive oil – was classified as a hazard to marine resources and human health, and so could only be released into the marine environment in limited quantities.
MARPOL stipulates that ships must not discharge in excess of 75 litres of palm oil residue, and can only do so at least 12 nautical miles from land and in a depth of not less than 25 metres. The discharge must be made below the waterline.
MARPOL’s new definition of palm oil as a pollutant requires the substance to undergo a pre-wash procedure before it is released, which Malaysia’s palm oil lobby, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), said would affect trade in the world’s most used vegetable oil.
Palm oil dumping is banned in European waters, but the act is still legally permissible in Southeast Asia under MARPOL regulations.
The International Maritime Organization, the industry body for the shipping trade, has said that waste reception facilities at ports are crucial for avoiding waste dumping by ships at sea. However, in Southeast Asia, such facilities are often lacking. Where waste reception facilities exists, ships often avoid bearing the cost of using them, and choose to discharge palm oil residue at sea, given that it is legally permissible.
Last year, Malaysia’s transport minister called on the private sector to set up port waste reception facilities to collect used bunker oil at Malaysian ports. The country does not yet have such facilities.
The long-term environmental impact of releasing palm oil into the sea is uncertain, although environmental groups such as Sea Shepherd have suggested that large spills could affect marine life and reduce oxygen levels in the water. A study by Environment Canada found that significant vegetable oil spills can have devastating effects on sea birds and intertidal organisms.
Marine scientist Dr Sian Prior, shipping policy director of non-profit Seas at Risk, said it was a “travesty” that a ban on palm oil dumping has not been introduced worldwide and called for MARPOL regulations to be tightened.
“Palm oil dumping should be banned globally, not just in Europe,” she told Eco-Business. “There is no reason why tank washing of palm oil will have greater impact in European waters than anywhere else. It is unacceptable to think that you can discharge waste into the oceans.”
Greenpeace also said that the discharge of tank washings at sea should be banned, given the avoidable impacts on marine life and ecosystems. The environmental group said that a solution would be for ports to provide oily water reception facilities to capture the washings and process them onshore.
Reusing the same vessels so they aren’t continually swapping cargo types may cut down on the frequency of washing and the quantity of the chemicals needed in the process, the non-profit told Eco-Business.
Should palm oil companies report waste pollution?
Eco-Business questioned a number of palm oil companies about their policies on waste discharge at sea.
Musim Mas, which operates 130,000 hectares of plantations in Indonesia, said it does not practice discharging palm oil “beyond a minimum amount of residue under a set of stringent conditions” outlined by MARPOL.
Carolyn Lim, the company’s head of corporate communications, said that if carried out according to international regulations, discharging waste at sea in the volume permitted should not produce any visible oil slick.
Lim said that Musim Mas only reports discharging waste in cases of non-compliance with regulations.
A spokesperson for SD Guthrie Berhad, which claims to produce more certified sustainable palm oil than any other company, said it uses chartered vessels for palm oil shipments – it does not own any vessels – and requires shipping contractors to comply with MARPOL regulations.
“We expect our partners to comply with these stringent standards to ensure the protection of marine environments. Our expectations are contractual and the breach of any of the terms would be treated as a breach of contract,” it said.
SD Guthrie Berhad, which recently rebranded from Sime Darby Plantations, also said it does not report the practice of waste palm oil discharge in its sustainability report.
Eco-Business also approached Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) and IOI Group about their policy on palm oil discharge. Both companies have not responded.
A palm oil “berg”, a congealed lump of palm oil that forms when the vegetable oil interacts with sea water. Image: GAR
In a blog post in 2019 in response to incidences of palm oil pollution that affected the coastline of the United Kingdom, creating “palm oil bergs” on beaches, GAR said that palm oil is biodegradable, non-toxic and would be eaten by marine animals.
Dr Prior commented: “Lots of things are biodegradable in the ocean – including mineral oil – but the impact they have before they do is unacceptable.”
The authorities in the UK have responded to palm oil spills by posting public health warnings on beaches, since palm oil is toxic to dogs.
