Disposing of domestic rubbish at sea

Downsman said:
A tip I learned from an old Dutch voyager I met in Playa Blanca, he kept an old pair of pliers hanging by the galley stove and when I asked about them he explained that on an ocean crossing such as we were both about to make, he would hold an empty food can in the flame of the galley cooker until it was hot and discoloured before ditching it. He said ( forum scientists stand by to squawk ) that destroying the protective 'tinning' accelerated the decomposition of the tin can. I've no idea if that is correct but I've done it ever since.
Click to expand...

I seem to remember from my Boy Scout days (alright - dib, dib, dib, dob, dob, dob!!! - OK?) that, when at camp, we used to burn, bash and bury the tin cans so that they rotted away quicker when rusty!
 
May I extend the thread slightly?

What does the panel think of porta-loo content which tend to have strong chemicals included. On short passages they can be emptied at a pump out station. But what is the view on emptying at sea on longer passages.

Never done such a long passage, so it's not been a problem for me yet.

Gitane
 
Surely glass grinds itself away to nothing over time - we've all seen smooth glass on the beach.
I also read somewhere that there are deep sea organisms that feed on metal. True or false I don't know
 
MoodySabre said:
Eat an apple whilst toodling on the river - core over the side.

Banana skin likewise? Do they breakdown in sea water?

Middle of the North Sea - chuck a can or glass bottle overboard, it sinks who cares in 40metres?

Cardboard packet would soon break up - oh maybe bleach and dye in the processing not such a good idea.

No plastic overboard anywhere anytime.

What, where and why. And what do you do?
Click to expand...

My advice to our skippers and crew:

Halcyon Yachts Environmental Guidelines

• Try and ensure that no fuel or oil is spilt and use a fuel collar if possible to catch drips.
• Carry and use a spill kit to mop up oil and fuel, do not use detergents to disperse fuel spills, they can be even more damaging
• If possible use a bilge sock to prevent oily water being discharged

Waste Disposal

• Dispose of waste oil and oily rags as hazardous waste
• Recycle everyday waste
• Keep all waste onboard, including cigarette butts and chewing gum as they can take years to decompose and are often eaten by birds and fish by mistake
• Use shore based toilet facilities where possible
• Don’t pump the heads in low tidal flushing areas and make sure you are as far offshore as possible, at least 3 miles is good practice

General Conduct

• Secure loose items on deck to prevent them from blowing overboard
• Use phosphate free detergents and minimise the use of bleach
• Navigate with care and keep your distance when you see wildlife, if you encounter dolphins keep a constant course and speed
• Keep wash to a minimum in rivers and when close to the shore
• Check if the area you are going to anchor is protected by law before dropping the hook
• Avoid spreading non-native invasive species by washing any mud or plant material off your anchor before stowing

If using a tender

• Small craft can reach shallow more sensitive areas, take care not to disturb vegetation and wildlife
• If going ashore, use recognised landing places to avoid damaging shoreline habitats
• Use a funnel to help prevent spills when refilling outboard engines

Pete
 
 
bitbaltic said:
It's not going to degrade until it encounters temperatures sufficient to melt silica, ie temperatures at which rocks or sediment turn liquid. This will not ever be found on the ocean floors (which are geologically cool) until they are subducted at continental margins. In the Atlantic, for instance, there are not presently any such margins, so a glass lobbed overboard will stay in its current form until the plates reverse direction and maybe for millions of years after that. The oceans are big of course, and it's hardly an issue, but still it would be best not to lob things overboard on the assumption that they will be dissolved in something referable to a human lifetime. Glass debris will be on and in the ocean floor for potentially hundreds of millions of years.
Click to expand...

It's not a question of degrading - just getting ground back to sand as soon as it gets into tidal waters where it gets rolled around a bit
 
MoodySabre said:
Eat an apple whilst toodling on the river - core over the side.

Banana skin likewise? Do they breakdown in sea water?

Middle of the North Sea - chuck a can or glass bottle overboard, it sinks who cares in 40metres?

Cardboard packet would soon break up - oh maybe bleach and dye in the processing not such a good idea.

No plastic overboard anywhere anytime.

What, where and why. And what do you do?
Click to expand...

Close to shore only food scraps. Offshore, bottles yes, nothing else.

Its an interesting point that we are willing to avoid dumping polluting the sea, so we bring it home to pollute the land instead !
 
Rigger Mortice said:
Apple cores and the obvious stuff like bread. Output from the heads

Nothing else.

I have been tempted to sling SWMBO overboard on a couple of occasions.
Click to expand...

Ditto to the rubbish - but have you had the temerity to ask if your temptation has ever been reciprocated? I haven't, and fear that "asking me to tweak the sails and sit on the low side to look under the genoa" might count amongst her (doubtless more numerous) reasons for temptation.
 
Anything that will be considered food by something living down there can go overboard. That includes the output from the heads.

Throwing anything else overboard really offends my sensibilities; though my more rational self would acknowledge that broken glass will just become sand in a short time and ferrous metal will also return whence it came. Other metals and any plastic must be a no-no.
 
" so we bring it home to pollute the land instead "
Strange you should say that.. I crossed from Las Palmas to Fort-de -France in Martinique and even though I was single handed I had an impressive rubble sack of plastic and other stuff I wouldn't ditch at sea. Tottered up the main road and found some skips by the shops and got shouted at and chased away :p Eventually binned it right along where the big supermarket is on the main road just back from the seafront. :encouragement:
 
Time it takes for garbage to decompose in the environment:


Glass Bottle.......................... 1 million years
Monofilament Fishing Line… 600 years
Plastic Beverage Bottles…… 450 years
Disposable Diapers………… 450 years
Aluminum Can..................... 80-200 years
Foamed Plastic Buoy……… 80 years
Foamed Plastic Cups……… 50 years
Rubber-Boot Sole............... 50-80 years
Tin Cans……………………. 50 years
Leather................................. 50 years
Nylon Fabric........................ 30-40 years
Plastic Film Container........ 20-30 years
Plastic Bag.......................... 10-20 years
Cigarette Butt...................... 1-5 years
Wool Sock............................ 1-5 years
Plywood…………………….. 1-3 years
Waxed Milk Carton………… 3 months
Apple Core…………………. 2 months
Newspaper………………….. 6 weeks
Orange or Banana Peel...... 2-5 weeks
Paper Towel……………….. 2-4 weeks



Information Source: U.S. National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota, FL.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Average waste natural degradation time in the Sea:

Chewing-gum (5 years)
An aluminium can for drinks (500 years)
A polystyrene case (between 100 and 1000 years)
Telephone and top-ups cards (1000 years)
A cigarette end (2-5 years)
An apple core (3-6 months)
Matches (6 months)
Newspapers and magazines (2 months)
A glass bottle (1000 years)
A plastic bottle or bag (1000 years)
Plastic lighter (100-1000 years)
A disposable diaper (about 200 years)
Cotton or woollen garments (8-10 months)
Paper tissues and napkins (3 months)
Synthetic fabrics (500 years)
A banana skin (2 years)
(source: www.legambienteonline.it)

Still want to chuck it OB?

The first list is official American rubbish in the 'environment' i.e presumably on land

The second is an environmentalist take on garbage at sea. Some interesting variations. Polysterene foam is claimed 'never' to degrade, and many authorities rate it at 1million years+, which when you see how much is already in the water is a bit worrying.
 
Last edited:
oldharry said:
... when you see how much is already in the water is a bit worrying.
Click to expand...

Indeed.

On a lighter note about a serious issue, I remember a paper in the journal Limnology and Oceanography about 40 years back, in which a group of scientists reported observations of floating rubbish which they had made whilst on passage between stations. They had counted flip-flops, and found a statistically significant difference between right and left hand ones (don't ask me, after that length of time, which predominated). Which led them to the (unanswered) question, was there a greater tendency to lose one of the pair, or had they been in an area to which the predominant type tended to drift by reason of their shape?
 
Hydrozoan said:
On a lighter note about a serious issue, I remember a paper in the journal Limnology and Oceanography about 40 years back, in which a group of scientists reported observations of floating rubbish which they had made whilst on passage between stations. They had counted flip-flops, and found a statistically significant difference between right and left hand ones (don't ask me, after that length of time, which predominated). Which led them to the (unanswered) question, was there a greater tendency to lose one of the pair, or had they been in an area to which the predominant type tended to drift by reason of their shape?
Click to expand...

Maybe related to:
North Atlantic garbage patch - Wikipedia, the free ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_garbage_patch
The North Atlantic garbage patch is an area of man-made marine debris found floating within the North Atlantic Gyre, originally documented in 1972.
Click to expand...

A gyre must have a handedness, so maybe a footedness, too!

Mike.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top