Refuse storage on boats

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

We have a trash compactor on our barge, a 12" wide under-worktop unit that compacts everything using an electrically operated ram. Absolutely excellent! It reduces well over a week's rubbish to a cube about 20" x 10" x 18" They are an American thing, about 700 dollars there. Not sure if they can be bought in England. We have one in the house as well!

 

They are actually very basic engineering and could easily be home built, perhaps built into a well deck locker. Basically a rectangular compartment that holds the rubbish, which is compressed by a steel plate on a scissor jack, chain driven by an electric motor. Could also be done hydraulically

Yes, I've seen those, I think it's a great idea, especially for long distance cruising,

I'm not exactly a Tree Hugger, but do try and be conscious of various bits n bobs, many moons ago, I use to have a Manual Paper Shredder, it looked like a Mimi Clothes Mangle.I use to shread all the waste card board & Paper over a tub of very diluted wallpaper paste and wood shavings, then use a press to make those burnable logs, but to be honest they weren't

great, and left a lot of ash. But stopped me getting board !. I did barter quite a few though for som home made wine a few times though.

[system 4-50]

We have a trash compactor on our barge, a 12" wide under-worktop unit that compacts everything using an electrically operated ram. Absolutely excellent! It reduces well over a week's rubbish to a cube about 20" x 10" x 18" They are an American thing, about 700 dollars there. Not sure if they can be bought in England. We have one in the house as well!

 

They are actually very basic engineering and could easily be home built, perhaps built into a well deck locker. Basically a rectangular compartment that holds the rubbish, which is compressed by a steel plate on a scissor jack, chain driven by an electric motor. Could also be done hydraulically

Is it easy to remove the cube? Or is it easy to bag up? Doesn't it drip?

[John V]

Paul to say "they weren't great" is the understatement of the year . I used to make them as well.....they were crap and you used to get 'orrible black water coming out of the press

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

so I was making them right then !.

[Pykebird]

Anything that can be burnt,is. The rest go into boxes on the roof. I do usually rinse tins and any plastic containers out as this cuts down on any smells.

[blackrose]

I hate boaters who burn rubbish on their solid fuel stoves. It stinks.

 

Plastics have to be incinerated at very high temperatures otherwise chemical reactions occur that release carcinogenic dioxins which your neighbours breathe in. You can't achieve those temperatures on a stove. Much or your paperboard packaging will be coated or laminated with thin layers of plastics too.

 

http://www.wecf.eu/cms/download/2004-2005/homeburning_plastics.pdf

[Neil2]

I'm all for the prevention rather than cure approach, but things like removing packaging before you leave the supermarket and burning stuff on the stove that could be at least anti social at worst toxic, just seems to be turning your problem into someone else's.

 

We are pretty good at compacting and minimising rubbish and never dwell in one place for a whole day but even so we still seem to end up with a sizeable bin bag every time we are conveniently near a sanitary station. I suppose it's more of an issue as we are only 45 foot so there isn't much free space inside. There is space in the bow locker but with the gas bottles in there it's not easy to manhandle a rubbish bag through the opening it's hard enough getting the bottles in and out. Using plastic bins in the storage lockers is a possibility as well but as they are already full of stuff...

 

A nice looking roof box might be the answer.

[WJM]

Well folks it looks as though we are all going to have to store more of our household waste on board in future...

 

Why? What is happening to force this change?

[markgrogan]

Wow I never thoguht that I'd be reading an enthusiastic thread about refuse storage and handling in my lifetime. But just my 2 cents worth is that I think the trash compactor idea might actually be really viable! As opposed to having to make multiple trips to clear waste and rubbish off the boat too often...

[Paul G2]

Wow I never thoguht that I'd be reading an enthusiastic thread about refuse storage and handling in my lifetime. But just my 2 cents worth is that I think the trash compactor idea might actually be really viable! As opposed to having to make multiple trips to clear waste and rubbish off the boat too often...

 

Several problems with trash compactors...

 

If you have to get them from the US they will be the wrong voltage for the UK and Europe.

 

They take special bags. If trash compactors aren't available there, I doubt the bags would be either.

 

There are some things they don't compact all that well. They have a limit switch for the ram pressure and some things just bounce back after compacting. For instance, if you fill them with cans and try to compact, the ram just goes down a little ways then comes back up without compacting the cans. It's like the ram can only travel a few inches after first sensing resistance.

 

They smell. Week old garbage is still week old garbage, even if compacted, and it does tend to smell rather raunchy.

 

So other than that you can't use them because of the voltage, they don't work very well if you could use them and they stink, they're a great piece of kit.

 

JMHO

[Naughty Cal]

We find that using our bin is usually enough waste storage until we can find somewhere suitable to dispose of our rubbish. Occasionally we have had to store a black bag of rubbish under the cockpit table or in the dinghy until we next come across a bin but that isn't usually for very long.

[Gordias]

Does anyone compost suitable organic waste on board?

 

IMO "suitable" in this case would be most plant-based kitchen waste, so it couldn't be a complete solution, but it would take care of most of the bulk (or in my case all, because while I eat meat I never cook it).

 

Could a composting toilet handle plant waste? (maybe if it was ground up first - and of course excluding things like corn cobs)

 

FWIW, at home (alone) it normally takes me one to two weeks per "shopping bag" of non-organic trash. This excludes "spring cleaning" and the like of course, but exceptional trash-generating activities can be planned for, on land or afloat.

 

If I could burn non-toxic combustibles I'd save about 25% of that. This is a side effect of general laziness making me appear ecologically conscious /lol. I have to walk home (with possible public transport sections) with everything I buy so I try to minimize packaging, especially heavy things like glass

Edited October 22, 2014 by Gordias

[Beaker]

 

Several problems with trash compactors...

 

If you have to get them from the US they will be the wrong voltage for the UK and Europe.

 

They take special bags. If trash compactors aren't available there, I doubt the bags would be either.

 

There are some things they don't compact all that well. They have a limit switch for the ram pressure and some things just bounce back after compacting. For instance, if you fill them with cans and try to compact, the ram just goes down a little ways then comes back up without compacting the cans. It's like the ram can only travel a few inches after first sensing resistance.

 

They smell. Week old garbage is still week old garbage, even if compacted, and it does tend to smell rather raunchy.

 

So other than that you can't use them because of the voltage, they don't work very well if you could use them and they stink, they're a great piece of kit.

 

Well said Paul, one thing you didn't mention is the weight of a 20" x 10" x 18" cube of compressed rubbish, sounds fairly hefty to me.

[Murflynn]

isn't that what the towpath is for?

[Dharl]

on a similar if slight change to topic, we are looking to get a dog (Labradoodle) and wanting to be responsible dog owners we don't wish to ad to the Dog Mess Trees that you see dotted about. Where do people store said waste until they find a suitable bin?

 

As share boaters we are only out for a max 2 weeks at a time, and would empty our rubbish prob every other day, but don't fancy putting 'filled bags' in with our other waste under the galley sink whilst waiting for the suitable place!!

[rasputin]

We will use a 30L sealed storage barrel strapped to the back of the boat.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30-litre-blue-Open-Top-Plastic-Barrel-Keg-Drum-with-metal-closure-and-handles-/351201200978?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item51c5390b52

[zenataomm]

Butty

[carlt]

Butty

Well that's dealt with the leftovers...What about the stuff that won't go in a sandwich?

[DeanS]

We are heavy garbage creators. Live Aboards. Cat. Dog. Kids. A full bag once per day is common. We've never had an issue....we just stop where there's a bin, and pop it in....the trick being able to twist and turn your waste bag so it fits through the smallish slot in public waste bins.

[Bettie Boo]

we have a 50L foot pedal lidded bin in the kitchen, 10L covered bin in the bathroom and a waste paper bin in the main bedroom. I also have a little compost pot in the kitchen for veg peelings, rarely do we get plastic bags from shops as we take reusable bags with us when we shop, when/where possible I try to get my fresh fruit & veg from a green grocer, and meat from a butcher; both of which use much less packaging than a supermarket. I use a little 6 blt cardboard holder to collect wine, spirit, cider bottles which saves space in the bins.

 

Oh and I use freezer bags for meat which is bought in the supermarket if no butcher is available, remove it from it's packaging on day of purchase, as we are normally within walking distance of a bin and dispose of it then. Cuts down on taking the packaging with us and saves loads of space in the freezer.

 

Not sure why, but there has only been one occasion in the past 8 months of living/cruising on board that we have had to store a bin bag of garbage in the front well, till we came to a disposal point, and with that said it was only there for one day. Any longer and it would have gone into the top box.

 

The only thing we burn in the stove is brown cardboard packaging, news print, coal & wood.

[cuthound]

on a similar if slight change to topic, we are looking to get a dog (Labradoodle) and wanting to be responsible dog owners we don't wish to ad to the Dog Mess Trees that you see dotted about. Where do people store said waste until they find a suitable bin?

 

As share boaters we are only out for a max 2 weeks at a time, and would empty our rubbish prob every other day, but don't fancy putting 'filled bags' in with our other waste under the galley sink whilst waiting for the suitable place!!

on a similar if slight change to topic, we are looking to get a dog (Labradoodle) and wanting to be responsible dog owners we don't wish to ad to the Dog Mess Trees that you see dotted about. Where do people store said waste until they find a suitable bin?

 

As share boaters we are only out for a max 2 weeks at a time, and would empty our rubbish prob every other day, but don't fancy putting 'filled bags' in with our other waste under the galley sink whilst waiting for the suitable place!!

When were on Honeystreet, we left the poo bags in a Tupperware container on the rear deck, until we passed a dog poo bin. Strangely, whilst other things left on the deck tended to "disappear" overnight, the tupperware container never did!

[Dharl]

When were on Honeystreet, we left the poo bags in a Tupperware container on the rear deck, until we passed a dog poo bin. Strangely, whilst other things left on the deck tended to "disappear" overnight, the tupperware container never did!

 

 

thanks Cuthound, will give that a go!!

[Peter X]

OK, I'm going to say it, 20x10x18 is a cuboid.

If you want a cube from a rubbish compacter, you need one of these:

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=WALL-E&gws_rd=ssl

 

I haven't thrown away a used jam jar for years, but I have steadily accumulated a surplus of home-made jam, in a wide variety of flavours. Maybe one day I should get a boat, a food hygiene certificate and a trading licence and start selling it. It would make very little profit but would be fun.

 

For anyone who has some jam jars to use up, may I suggest gathering crab apples (eating or cooking varieties will do too) and haws and/or rosehips, all right in season at present, and spending a fun evening making hedgerow jelly? The only cost is the sugar and the gas (or logs for a range), plus quite a lot of time to gather and prepare the fruit. If I detect enough interest, I can post my method in the "Recipes" section.

[Jerra]

OK, I'm going to say it, 20x10x18 is a cuboid.

If you want a cube from a rubbish compacter, you need one of these:

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=WALL-E&gws_rd=ssl

 

I haven't thrown away a used jam jar for years, but I have steadily accumulated a surplus of home-made jam, in a wide variety of flavours. Maybe one day I should get a boat, a food hygiene certificate and a trading licence and start selling it. It would make very little profit but would be fun.

 

For anyone who has some jam jars to use up, may I suggest gathering crab apples (eating or cooking varieties will do too) and haws and/or rosehips, all right in season at present, and spending a fun evening making hedgerow jelly? The only cost is the sugar and the gas (or logs for a range), plus quite a lot of time to gather and prepare the fruit. If I detect enough interest, I can post my method in the "Recipes" section.

I would certainly be interested in what you do with the Haws.

[Mike Todd]

Always carry a small bag to dispose of ..when passing bus stop litter bins...or pubs...or when walking into a town/village..

 

Tins...tins..tins...

 

If you must use bottles..save them...and get your own brew going ...

Presumably in the case of tines the advice is to remove the wrapping label before leaving the shop.. . .