Waste Aboard ??

[Doodles]

To get back on point, the OP was asking how to not generate the trash in the first place.

A first step could be transferring to reusable containers before bringing aboard, but that just transfers the waste from sea to land, where it will most likely someday end up, ...well, back in the sea. Even canned food generates a large number of ... cans.

Other than buying in bulk, and few places offer than anymore, I think the only answer is to avoid the processed food items whenever you can. Manufacturers are concerned about product tampering and contamination (think lawsuits) and that's why we have so much packaging. I can't see it going away with the litigious society we live in.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by zeehag

do not forget to remove all instructions as to how to use the contents of the package and all identifying markinga, as well. that way ye really know what to cook and how ..i use spray and poison to a max an dmake sure my packaging isnt carrying..LOl haven't had a roach in my boat .... the major carrir of eggs and buglets is corrugated cardboard. there really isnt any room in the mush packaging cereals and bisquik to harbor eggs and buglets, but if you are worried, SPRAY POISON -- that works great. then stick the boxes into snap top containers or ziplok baggies to isolate from other things..works great. s far as the trash leftover from packaging when you need to dispo it-- stomp it small and wrap in plastic bags and placeinto a space in boat not being used for anything else until ye come to port or a bin/recepticle for same. LOL. organic stuff goes overboard to feed fishies and leaves no stinky in boat.

Using poison in contact with food containers and packages is a big concern. You risk food contamination that could make you and you family sick. If you get rid of the cardboard and heavy brown paper before it comes aboard that should be enough to avoid bugs aboard. (If you need cooking instructions just cut out that part of the printed panel and tape it to the alternate container. The roach eggs are in the folds and corrugations, not in the glue as someone wrote. Flat cardboard with without the folds and corrugations is OK.)

As for the waste, the original poster is from Texas -- I would think they would separate containers for recycling there for glass/metal/plastic/cardboard containers. Most communities in the US do.

[osirissail]

Sort of on the same lines of getting wasted on board - it does make a difference what kind of plastic containers you use. A lot of products especially liquid soaps come in plastic containers/jars/bottles. One of the most popular products is Joy Liquid which is usable for a lot of different cleaning chores on board a boat. However, finding it in stores can be difficult. So I used to buy the biggest Joy liquid I could find which was close to a liter or two in size.
- - The problem is that these plastic bottles are now "bio-degradable" and after a year of storage in the bilge the bottle "bio-degraded". And I have a super mess to clean up.
- - So now we repackage long term storage items into plastic bottles we buy in the resealable plastic container sections of stores - the Rubbermaid/Tupperware/whatever versions that are not "bio-degradable."

[Want to sail]

I have found that the plastic containers that have a screw top lid work best. This is how we store things at home also. Dollar stores have these in lots of sizes. Some of my snap type lids on plastic containers tend to warp and not seal as well over time. I have not been happy with any methods of transfering the instructions to the containers that I have tried so far. I have started a recipies file on my laptop so I am going to take a close up picture of the information on my phone and save it to my recipie file under the product name and write the product name on my container with a sharpie marker.

[JanetGroene]

Do you have space and power on board for a trash compacter? As for drinks, there's thread on the Food and Provisioning forum about making your own fizzy sodas using concentrates.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Stick it all in a large black plastic bin liner - add a couple of rocks and then deep six it

Apparently plastic lasts forever without degrading, so won't pollute and in a couple of thousand years (or so) it will be a food source for a species which has evolved to eat plastic (yum yum ). Of course those who hold no truck with evolution can feed it to the next Dinosaur they see

It's what Al Gore does

[avb3]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

....I don't think manufacturers think very carefully about how they package products!!

Actually, they do.

There are three issues they need to consider.

1. Cost
2. Shipping
3. Marketing

The one we as consumers can influence is the amount of packaging related to marketing. Trust me, companies want to have the lowest cost when it comes to packaging, as sometimes it costs more to package then to make.

Shipping is a real issue as companies and shipping companies do not want to deal with damaged freight; in the end, damaged freight costs us as consumers more money.

So, I agree that I would like to see reduced packaging, but the problem is not as easy as simply saying, "reduce your packaging".

There are other issues that need solving.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by JanetGroene

Do you have space and power on board for a trash compacter? As for drinks, there's thread on the Food and Provisioning forum about making your own fizzy sodas using concentrates.

A Trash Compactor on a cruising boat/sailboat? You have to be kidding? Space and power are always at the minimum possible in order to have room to stow food and supplies needed for cruising. Then there is the salt water environment that eats away at "land lubber" appliances/equipment.
- - My "trash compactor" consists of my foot above and a small foot mat below a soda can.
- - Plastic containers that come with some foods are cut up with scissors or a knife to fit into a plastic trash bag which when full is stored on the aft deck lazarette until we get to a port where we can unload non-food garbage.
- - The whole idea of the thread is to share ways to reduce non-food garbage/trash so you don't have to consume space storing it until you get to the next port.

[Cheechako]

There are three issues they need to consider.

1. Cost
2. Shipping
3. Marketing
4. THEFT- they put one little widget into a big container so people dont walk out the door with it. WOnder what the cost of the extra shipping volume and container are...? maybe they can live with a little theft!

I wonder if they will ever catch on that not everyone wants to have to use a razor knife to remove that big plastic blister pak to get at the item they wanted to buy??? Of course once it's out of the plastic, then you get to remove it from the carboard marketing pak, then if you're really lucky, you get to cut it out of another plastic wrap! I'm not kidding, just did this today.Actually, I've seen quite a few trash compactors on large boats 43 ft +. My buddy swears by his. It is a problem getting rid of trash as the black bags stack up in the hot lazzarrette... one compacted cube is much easier to get rid of when you go to town.... it's been low on my list, but I do hate dealing with garbage when cruising. It'll improve your image when you make landfall without a couple big bags of garbage in hand! "G'day mate...take my garbage please...?"

[avb3]

Originally Posted by JanetGroene

Do you have space and power on board for a trash compacter? As for drinks, there's thread on the Food and Provisioning forum about making your own fizzy sodas using concentrates.

If you are at all ecologically aware, trash compactors are one of the worst (along with garberators) things to use.

The trash decomposes in the order of magnitudes slower then regular trash will, meaning that what we dump sticks around a lot longer.

As others have pointed out, there is also the power issue.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by avb3

If you are at all ecologically aware, trash compactors are one of the worst (along with garberators) things to use.

The trash decomposes in the order of magnitudes slower then regular trash will, meaning that what we dump sticks around a lot longer.

As others have pointed out, there is also the power issue.

I was thinking the same thing. Seems like trash compactors are another way to just ignore the problem whether on a boat or ashore. Why aren't we discussing more ways to REDUCE the waste to start with?