The protection of the marine environment can be enhanced by eliminating discharges into the sea of ship-generated waste and cargo residues. This can be achieved by improving the availability and use of reception facilities.  Adequate port reception facilities should meet the needs of the port users, without causing undue delay to the ships using them. Port reception facilities can be fixed, floating or mobile and should be adapted to collect the different types of ship-generated waste and/or cargo residues. Adequacy of reception facilities can be improved by up-to-date port-waste management-plans. Cost recovery systems should provide financial incentives for ships not to discharge at sea but simultaneously pay attention to the ‘polluter pays’ principle to avoid undesired excess use of the facilities. If possible, parts of the waste streams can be brought into a ‘waste as a resource cycle’.