Trash Plan on 30 foot boat

preserved_killick · Post by **preserved_killick** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:37 am

Hi Everyone.

On my 22 foot boat, we didn't generate much trash since we cooked very simple meals, only the occasional night out ect. Trash was easy to deal with.

I've done many cruises on bigger boats: 40 foot plus that simply had the room for small kitchen sized trash can.

I'm building counter tops on my Alberg 30 and I'm considering including a little hinged door where a small (bathroom sized) plastic trash can can sit while being removeable. The top edge of the trash can rests on a lip. I think this setup is common on smaller boats.

What do you all do with trash?

-Jeff

Hirilondë · Post by **Hirilondë** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:32 am

Good question. Haven't seen this as a topic before, and I bet a lot of us have found the need to consider dealing with trash storage.

I like your plan. I have considered something similar, but the one place I could fit such an arrangement is a space I really don't want to give up.

I use a 4 gal. plastic bucket with a wire handle. It is bungee connected under my dinette table to the support. On the positive side it is convenient to reach and use, stays in place well even when sailing and empties easily. On the negative side it is slightly in the way when sitting and is not so attractive. I would like to improve on this, but not sure I really can without giving up storage space I would prefer to keep. It works well, so it probably won't get "fixed" any time soon.

Idon84 · Post by **Idon84** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 2:38 pm

I've been thinking of this too although it my wife's decision (she gets interior say on projects). But I've suggested to her while we are rebuilding the galley to find some kind of universal container(something that won't go out of production any time soon)... a 4 gal bucket sounds good, and find a place that it would keep it out of the way yet make it easy. Another idea would be to make a system to hold up and open a trash bag without a need for a bucket. But then if something happens what a nasty mess to clean!

I'm thinking the area just behind the sink which is somewhat difficult to retrieve things out of unless they are taller. Then (for long term trips) I'll have an area in my rear lazzarete where I can store a couple of bags away from the interior before finding a place to dump them. I'm the kind of person who WILL NOT toss anything overboard unless it is biodegradable regardless of offshore rules. Must be the EverGreener in me.

The area behind the sink in this photo shows a little D ring hatch where I want to put my trash can. Of course I'll have to be sure it fits first.

[img][img]http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj14 ... G_0033.jpg[/img][/img]

Duncan · Post by **Duncan** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 3:07 pm

The Sabre 28 has a small cutout in the top of the engine box, i.e. in the "companionway countertop".
There's a top with a finger hole, which is what you see here on the port side:

I don't know how it works out in practice, but it seems like the neatest idea I've seen for a boat this size.

For now, I just keep a little square plastic bucket under the bottom companionway step, and try to avoid excess packaging.

Hirilondë · Post by **Hirilondë** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 4:25 pm

Seems all Saber gallies put the trash in the engine compartment. The joke around the boatyard referred to some need to heat the garbage. It is a convenient spot. It utilizes space that wouldn't other wise be used. But not so sure I like it.

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 4:57 pm

Alberg 30s (at least the first generation) come with a "wet locker" built into the after end of the starboard galley flat. The PO of my boat had fit an ordinary waste basket into it (not sure he used it for that; maybe he did use it for foulies, I don't know). Here's what it looked like (don't mind the battens, etc; this was when I was first looking at the boat):

I've also seen hinged flaps cut into the bulkhead between galley and cockpit lockers/engine room, and then the trash receptacle in the latter area, fastened to the bulkhead. This is an interesting idea, although I might not be so keen on it if those compartments were otherwise sealed off from galley/saloon, and the trash flap was the one hole that compromised that.

Since the discussion is ranging a bit more into longer trips, I'll tell about how we had our trash set up on the cruising boat. It's much more elaborate than you'd need for weekending, but perhaps it will be useful to someone.

The basic set-up was that we had three trash receptacles, and that their use would vary depending on whether we were at sea, or near shore (and if near shore, what were the trash disposal guidelines for that area).

You can see the three receptacles in this photo, which although not the best, seems to be the only one I have of the companionway area. There is a small, light blue bathroom wastebasket tied at the back of the upper companionway "landing" (which is another name for a pine 1x8 that I made as a "satisficing" shelf there on a level with the companionway step) and then two larger, "standard office" wastebaskets that wedged in perfectly under the base of the ladder (btw, I agree on finding standard sizes - we had a couple of matching to the small bathroom one elsewhere it it was good for stacking or having a spare).

As they say, "Pardon the mess." We were nearing the end of a rather trying passage, so it has that, "Hey, we've been ransacked!" look.

Even when we were offshore, where you can toss anything but plastic overboard, we still had three categories because we disposed of items differently. For example, then, the top basket held anything that was just able to be tossed over instantly - paper, food scraps, etc. We preferred to take the extra time to fill up and sink our bottles and cans*, so they went into the stbd-side bottom bin and we'd do a batch all at once on the side deck. The port-side bottom bin was for plastic, which never goes over, hence the qarbage-bag liner in that one.

If we were between 3 and 12 miles out, then the top bin would be just for things smaller than one inch (for example), and the rest would go into the bottom bins, as appropriate.

Then sometimes if we were at anchor, the local community would burn some trash but not others, so then one bin was for burnables, etc.

In the photo, the system is a bit messed up (see the bottle in the top bin), but we'd been offshore long enough to generate a bunch of trash, and we were only about 5 miles from Panama City, so we knew we would be dumping it all in a trash facility ashore. At that point we were just trying to contain it all.

Rachel

*When we were in British Columbia, we had a knowledgeable marine biologist type person explain to us that if we sank our cans "whole," instead of crushing them, that marine life would use them for habitat until they bio-degraded. So we filled both them and bottles up and sank them when well offshore

PS: I can't speak for every place, but in many places, disposing of your trash responsibly at sea is preferable to disposing of it ashore. On many islands, for example, there is no place to put the trash and it might just get dumped back into the water, only this time near shore and "unmanaged." So taking care of it properly at sea can oftentimes be more responsible, in my opinion. Location-dependent, of course.

bcooke · Post by **bcooke** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:09 pm

Rachel, its time to retire that last photo. I happen to know that you have used it on half a dozen different threads on this forum alone over the past five years or so.

At least photoshop it a bit and put a different face peering in for some variety.

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:18 pm

I fixed it.

R.

BALANCE · Post by **BALANCE** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:47 pm

I thought everybody put there garbage behind the ladder! :) Rachel, I love the two stage concept! I took this today.

bcooke · Post by **bcooke** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 11:04 pm

Duncan · Post by **Duncan** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:23 am

Hirilondë wrote:Seems all Saber gallies put the trash in the engine compartment. The joke around the boatyard referred to some need to heat the garbage. It is a convenient spot. It utilizes space that wouldn't other wise be used. But not so sure I like it.

I had wondered about the heat as well, so that's good feedback. Maybe you could just take the bag out if there was going to be enough engine time to heat up the space that day?

A small tip-out bin might fit at the base of a lot of companionways? Surprising how little thought goes into this in most cabin designs, given the fact that it's an issue for most people. I give Sabre full points for doing something about it.

Prevention is worth a pound of cure, though. I strip off the extra boxes and plastic before anything goes aboard, and sometimes repack into re-usable containers, as well. Takes ten minutes, max, and saves time fussing about garbage later. Cans, of course, go over the side, along with anything biodegradable, so the amount of waste to be disposed of ends up being minimal.