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The European Directive 2000/59/EC on port reception facilities for ship generated waste and cargo residues aims to substantially reduce discharges of ship-generated waste and cargo residues into the sea, especially illegal discharges from ships using ports in the EU. This is done by improving the availability and use of port reception facilities and by developing cost recovery systems in each port, thereby enhancing the protection of the marine environment.

Article 9 of that Directive states that when ships are engaged in scheduled traffic with frequent and regular port calls and there is sufficient evidence of an arrangement to ensure the delivery of ship-generated waste and payment of fees in a port along the ship's route, Member States of the ports involved may exempt these ships from the obligations in Article 6, Article 7(1) and Article 8 (notification, mandatory delivery and payment of waste fee). For ships meeting these requirements, an application can be made.

Furthermore the Directive states in art 8.2.c that when the ship's environmental management, design, equipment and operation are such that the master of the ship can demonstrate that it produces reduced quantities of ship-generated waste, the ship's waste fee may be reduced. The procedure and requirements in order to obtain a reduced fee when entering the port of Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ghent and Ostend can be found here.

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