Solutions to Marine Pollution in Canary Islands’ ports: Alternatives and Optimization of Energy Management

The study of waste generated in ports is a vitally important issue to reduce marine pollution and improve port management systems. In this article, the authors study the management of solid waste generated in the ports of the Canary Islands. For this purpose, a waste management model based on the circular economy is developed. With this model, it is possible to reduce pollution in the port areas of the capital's islands, increase the fraction of recycled waste and obtain additional energy for the ports. The interest of this study lies in the singularities of these islands with respect to the geographic limitations that make them weak energy environments. The proposed solution to solve the current problems and achieve a zone of zero waste (throughout the port of Santa Cruz and its industrial estate) has two main phases: the first, in which solid waste is processed and a part is recycled, and the second, which consists of recovering the energy of the converted fuels. The advantages of the application of this model are that CO2 emissions are reduced, energy savings are realized, waste management is improved in these environments (the recycling fraction is increased considerably), and new jobs are created. This model also contributes to the development of the Special Territorial Plan for Waste Management of the Canary Islands, in accordance with the policies of the European Union required for the coming years.