Organics overboard?

[Macblaze]

I was just wondering what the "etiquette" of dumping organic trash overboard was. I suppose that tossing a chicken bone that was going to sink would be fine in a crowded anchorage or even at the dock, but what about lettuce/rice/coffee grounds or anything else that might float around and stick to someone else's hull. Seems kind of rude.

But if you are planning on spending weeks away from the dock what's the alternative?

Just wondering...

[Mike OReilly]

We save our organics and dump them when we're well off shore. Either that or we have a good bonfire and burn them. Outside of coffee grounds, I don't dump in an anchorage -- certainly not a marina.

[Cheechako]

organics overboard but only away from harbors.... at sea

[mausgras]

I must confess to dropping the occasional plate scrapings or orange peel overboard to "feed the fish" when out on the water but the galley waste is always tied up in a plastic bag and stored in the cockpit lazarette until we get back to the marina if we are out for less than a week.
I sometimes wonder at the futility of it all because I sail in a country that has very poor waste management ashore and an awful lot ends up in the water.
I guess i persevere because it gives me a sense of moral superiority and who knows just maybe one of the locals I sometimes take with me will notice and pass on the message.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Macblaze

I was just wondering what the "etiquette" of dumping organic trash overboard was....

In the USA at least, it's not a matter of etiquette, there are laws governing what can be dumped where.

That said, I have always wondered why it's perfectly legal to chop up a fish and throw it overboard as "chum", but if you cook the fish first and eat some of it, the remainder is "food waste" and illegal to dump overboard.

What do we actually do? Food waste usually is bagged and placed with other garbage and trash when we get to a marina. Not always though. Sometimes if we are away from other boats and waterfront homes it gets thrown overboard.

[sailorboy1]

I think the quantity involved determines whether is is OK.

[hellosailor]

Well, if it wasn't a MARPOL violation. And of course, you've got that trash plan sticker down in the galley.(G)


I figure that if my "trash" would be eagerly awaited as dinner by the next critter, that's perfect recycling. So if it will not aesthetically impact anyone, one might consider tearing it into coin-sized pieces and feeding the critters, yes.


Trash? Or crab bait? Sometimes it is so hard to tell.


Spare ribs BBQ on the beach? Toss the bare ribs up in the air, watch the seagulls FIGHT to get them. There's even a use for flying rats, who knew non-compostable trash was considered good eating too?