Best Practice for Eco-Friendly Waste Disposal
by Naomi Copperweight 21 Jul 2022 21:00 AEST
How to dispose of yacht waste while keeping the environment in mind? © upffront.com
Most sailors are environmentally conscious and want to do their part in preserving our planet. But when it comes time to dispose of yacht waste, it can be hard to know the best way to do this. Here are a few tips on how to properly dispose of yacht waste while still keeping the environment top of mind.
Some of the worst pollutants created and disposed of by boaters are sewage, oily bilge water, grey water containing cleaning products and plastic food packaging. So how can we do a better job? Below are just a few simple ways that you can help.
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
We've all heard it before but in practical terms, here are a few things you can do:
- Limit the amount of packaging: Try and unpack as much as you can before you go and dispose of the packaging ashore, keeping the food in reusable containers or lockers on board.
- Re-use whatever you can: Try and have bottles or cups that are reusable rather than any one-use items.
- Recycle, recycle, recycle!
Using the Heads
Raw sewage is full of bacteria and viruses. So here are a few tips for keeping our waters clean:
- Use toilets on land whenever possible: When you can, avoid using the toilet onboard and head for shore.
- Use a holding tank: Sewage should be kept in a holding tank, so if you don't have one, get one installed.
- Composting toilets: These are becoming more popular with inland waterway users as well, but few are compatible with the motion experienced at sea, and disposal ashore can often be more complicated than simply pumping out a holding tank.
Grey water
This also refers to disposing grey water. What is grey water? This is the kind used when having a shower or doing washing up in the sink.
- Use ECO friendly cleaning products: You must ensure that any washing and cleaning products being drained overboard are of the environmentally friendly types.
- Try to avoid: Avoid cleaning products that contain chlorine, bleach, phosphates or microplastics.
Fuel
As we all know a fuel leak can be devastating on the environment so it's important that we prevent these from happening. How? Well here are a few tips:
- Keep up the maintenance: Keeping your engine well maintained will avoid oil and fuel leaks that can harm the environment.
- Be careful: Make sure when refuelling or adding any oil that you take care to not spill any. A good method is to use funnels or absorbent materials.
Summary
Proper disposal of yacht waste is important for the environment and for keeping your boat clean. By recycling as much as possible, using a holding tank when available, and using eco-friendly cleaning products, you can help minimise your impact on the planet.
Also, make sure you know the rules on waste disposal before heading to different locations to avoid a nasty fine!
If you have any questions about proper disposal or would like more information on environmentally friendly products, please contact us ay - we are happy to help!