Photo By Cpl. Joshua Brown | Lance Cpl. Philip J. Wall, an assaultman with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team...... read more read more
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USS KEARSARGE – Where there are people there is trash. On the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), 2,700 personnel eat, live, work and sleep, so there’s plenty of it to go around. The Kearsarge generates about 600 bags of garbage every day. To keep the ship from turning into a floating island of waste, the Sailors and Marines on board work together to safely and properly dispose of the waste created on-board through the environmental department.
Keeping the ship clean and managing trash properly helps meet the missions of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 4. Both commands emphasize readiness and troop welfare. Failed management of these items can lead to hazardous work spaces, unsanitary conditions and cause troop illness, thus reducing the effectiveness and readiness of personnel within the units.
“All of [the waste] is managed on-board the ship with a few exceptions,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Chiquita A. Davison, a ship serviceman with PHIBRON 4. “Everything is self-sustained; we maintain, operate and handle all of the trash and disposal machinery ourselves.”
Environmental is comprised of ship servicemen that run the hazardous material and environmental operations on ship, hull technicians that maintain and service the disposal machinery, and Marines and sailors from different units onboard that assist with the disposal process in rotating shifts.
“The workload is divided into three nine hour shifts throughout the day,” said Davison.
Each shift is responsible for the environmental section during their time on duty. They sort the garbage and manage it in different ways dependent on the material.
“Units and the galley deliver bags of garbage throughout the day,” said Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Hollings, a rifleman with Golf Company, Battalion Landing Team 2/6, 26th MEU. “The garbage is separated and grouped together into sections of plastic, paper, metal and glass, food, and bones and cores.”
Once the garbage is separated, different machines are used to handle each kind of trash based on the method used for disposal.
“We use a pulper for paper and food waste, a compressed melting unit for plastic, and a compactor for metal and glass,” said Hollings.
The process includes hands on involvement with the garbage. When garbage isn’t properly sorted the environmental team sorts and separates the garbage by hand to ensure each kind of trash meets its end in the proper fashion.
“Food and paper are biodegradable so they go from the pulper straight to the ocean,” said Hollings. “Other products like plastic and metal aren’t so we compress them down separately and dispose of them in different ways.”
Mixing different materials can damage equipment or cause harm to the environment. It is necessary that each kind of material is managed in the right manner to avoid this.
“The most difficult part is sorting the trash,” said Davison. “Personnel are provided with different bags to sort the garbage before it gets to us, but we can’t monitor whether the bags were properly sorted until we get them.”
The command and hazardous material/environmental Marines and sailors aboard encourage personnel to dispose of their trash in the proper bags.
“Sorting the trash and handling the garbage is pretty gross,” said Hollings. “But it’s important, so we stay positive and find ways to keep our morale up while we’re working.”
The Marines and sailors working on the shift between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. sing songs to keep the morale high in the environmental section.
“People walk by and laugh and smile because we sing,” said Fireman Jeffrey N. Yon, a hull technician with PHIBRON 4. “We like it because it lets them know that the guys handling the garbage have positive attitudes.”
The job isn’t for everybody and many find it unappealing, but the team in the environmental section doesn’t let it sway them from having a good time, said Yon.
“They’re all unique and opened minded with good personalities,” said Davison. “They work hard and even though they don’t always get recognition for what they do, the commanding officer, executive officer and command master chief notice, and they frequently compliment the hard work they’re doing down in environmental.”
The environmental section on the Kearsarge has received recognition for its cleanliness. Receiving special written recognition earned Yon a Navy Achievement Medal while he was working during an inspection.
“The ship would be a dirty place without us,” said Hollings. “The work is a little chaotic, but it’s worth it to keep the ship a cleaner place for everyone.
| Date Taken: | 06.23.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2015 19:37 |
| Story ID: | 167877 |
| Location: | USS KEARSARGE, AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 524 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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