It’s not pretty. It’s not part of the dream. It’s garbage — and by “garbage,” I’m talking about food scraps, not just general trash.
So what do you do with garbage on a boat when you’re on a short trip, charter or coastal cruising? (Ocean passages, where you may be at sea or a month or more, will require some different techniques.)
Garbage has two main problems: it stinks, and it attracts bugs (and worse). In a warm climate, both happen very quickly.
Luckily, putting your garbage in an airtight container solves both problems. I usually have a wide-mouth jar that’s trash itself and I just put the garbage in it and keep the lid on tight. Peanut butter, mayonnaise and jelly jars are all great candidates. You can also use margarine and yogurt tubs, but the lids can be a little more prone to pop off.
If I don’t have a suitable jar or tub, I use an old Ziploc bag or perhaps an old bread wrapper — again, taken from the trash. The big thing is to make sure the bag doesn’t have any holes in it and that you can seal it up tightly. Sometimes with a Ziploc, “crud” will get into the zipper ridges and prevent the bag from staying sealed.
If the container isn’t airtight or comes open, the smell will probably be your first clue. Swarming bugs around it are another sure sign. Take care of the problem immediately — no matter how bad it smells — as it emphatically will not get better by itself. You do not want a stinky garbage mess to suddenly turn into a stinky garbage mess with a bug infestation. If you’ve had a problem, it can help to give a squirt of bug spray in the trash can after you’ve cleaned up any spill.
We always dispose of the “garbage jars” with the rest of our trash when we get to a town or anchorage with some sort of trash service.
Some people suggest throwing garbage overboard on the grounds the sea life will eat it or that it’s biodegradable. I don’t like to do that.
All you have to do is walk the beach anywhere that garbage is thrown in the water to see the result. Okay, you don’t see as much food as plastic, but a lot of that garbage does end up on shore or on the ocean bottom just offshore. Fruit peels, especially oranges, are usually prevalent. I remember snorkeling beautiful reefs in the BVI and finding banana peels. YUCK!
That just doubled my resolve not to throw food scraps in the water.
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John Colley on Facebook says
I really like your site.It’s what we’ve always needed.Practicle advice from those with the experience
Charles says
If you have a solid-fuel stove or heater (and are in a place or going to a place where it’s likely to be used) much of your boat garbage can be turned into bio-briquettes and burned.
MaBarley says
We would love to have your share more details on how to do this and your personal experience with them!
Teague de La Plaine says
Not exactly the same, but could probably get you started: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Briquettes
Jan says
Wow, what a great site! And giving this info for FREE!
As for what to do with garbage: re-use those fruit and veggie bags from the grocery and put the produce type garbage in there. Then put it in the freezer in a container till “trash day”. No bugs.
If you also use a juicer that emulsifies peelings (where most of the nutrients are anyway) you can reduce the size of the garbage and eat more healthfully.
What if you just put all that in a blender on frappé, could that be toss overboard without creating a problem?
Carolyn Shearlock says
Well, let’s see . . . Thanks for liking the site!
Many boats don’t have a large freezer — or even a freezer at all. So they may not be able to put garbage into the freezer. I’m guessing that most boats just don’t have this option, but thanks for suggesting it for those who do. And they don’t have the space for a blender/food processor, nor want to use the electricity for garbage. And little bits of food garbage are just as ugly as big ones, and really, the fish don’t eat it. So I doubt that this would work well for many boaters.
Chris says
we were kayaker for years and hated finding fruit peels and egg shells on beaches where we camped. now that we are boaters our method is my parents old vitamin blender. that thing will make a smoothie out of anything. banana peels, watermelon and cantaloupe rinds, orange peels get blended until it goes thru a strainer. turns into organic sludge that I dispose of when we get out of the harbor.
Judie Ashford says
A five-pound size flour canister, lined with two produce bags, provides a nifty place for smelly food garbage and plate scrapings. Bugs stay out; smells stay in. I recently replaced my flour container with a container meant to store and pour cereal. Many bits of garbage can be poked through the sealable pouring spout obviating the need to remove the whole top for every access event. This is a bonus in the odor department.
Bill says
We use contractor strength trash bags stored in the dingy (on Davits ). That way when we go ashore, we dispose of garbage properly
Tara says
Handling garbage on an extended cruise is a nuisance. One summer we were out for 3 1/2 months and only tied to a dock twice. We had large, square pails that we got from a restaurant and divided them into tin, glass and waste. We flattened the tins with a hammer to save space and burnt the garbage or disposed of it when at a dock. We had removed excessive packaging before we left on the cruise so we weren’t carrying too much to begin with.
The people we bought our boat from went on a two-year cruise and canned most of their provisions for the trip so had very little waste. As you can imagine, this took them a lot of time to prepare, but it is an environmentally friendly thing to do.
Dave Skolnick says
This is a challenge.
To your introductory point, well offshore there are few options beyond tossing everything other than plastic over the side in accordance with MARPOL regulations. Even this is becoming a problem as more and more containers are plastic. The key to plastic offshore is scrubbing them before doing the best you can to nest them and stow for disposal ashore.
Inshore it pays to do some research. On many islands “proper disposal” ends up back in the sea. In those situations, getting together with other cruisers to burn garbage on the beach may be the most responsible course of action. Pollute the air or pollute the sea? Sometimes there are no good answers, only least bad ones.
The best we can do is minimize the amount we have to dispose, pay attention to our waste stream, and try to keep the bugs away. One key for us has been separating as much container volume as we can when we make a provisioning run.
We wash all cans and bottles in sea water before putting them in the trash. A sea water pump at the galley sink helps a lot. We do separate food stuff from containers and similar garbage.
+1 on stowing trash in the dink while inshore so we don’t forget to take it ashore, again assuming that local disposal is responsible.
Carolyn Shearlock says
Good points, Dave. I’ve written a number of articles here on the many facets of Trash Management, including thinking about it when buying goods, ways to store it aboard and even what to do if burning it seems the best option. It’s a real problem, not just on a boat but ashore, too. Even where there are landfills as opposed to just “dumping grounds,” much ends up in the landfill that could be recycled or composted. For example, where I live there is no glass recycling despite the fact that glass is one of the easiest things to recycle.
brenda says
When we crossed the Atlantic we saved up a few water bottles bought in the Med. Each day any rubbish that couldn’t be thrown overboard (we only threw over food waste) was thoroughly washed, squashed or cut and squeezed into the bottle. At the end of our 14 day trip we had only filled one five litre water bottle. Keeping the bottle sealed kept any smells (minimal due to washing) at bay.
Maryanne Grady says
We are new to living on a sail boat and really appreciat your site! We had a sail boat here in Arizona which only went out on the local lakes. Recently we purchased a boat that is moored in Morro Bay Ca and we have started staying there on extended weekends. I have gotten so many great pointers on practical living on the boat from your site. Today it was garbage containment! Thank you!!!
The Boat Galley says
Glad you’re finding it helpful!
Cindy Balfour says
We cruised the inside passage in the Pacific NW. Cooler weather was definitely our friend when it came to smells but there are so many bugs and they are not shy about visiting the dark or even the light corners.
I was militant about the separation of garbage in case we had to dump it while out. My husband suggested chopping it really fine. Yuk! Most marinas took any trash/garbage. Some sold you a special bag and would take it only in that bag, while others just charged a dump fee. Friday Harbor had an array of cans for various recycling. But most Canadian stops did not recycle.
Becky Croston says
Thanks Cindy! –I’ve waited for hints for “this ” area (Pac. N.W.) We’re going up to Alaska for five months and I’m hungry for help!
Cookie Johnson says
I love your site! Always learning new things!! We are about 7 months away from living aboard at a marina and want to learn to live as if cruising, because we will throw off the dock lines about 4 to 5 years later. I;ve never done any canning or anything like that and have lived mostly with processed food. Someone mentioned that they knew someone who canned everything before a long passage. Is that possible? Could you can things like chili with ground beef in it, and if so how long will it last? What else could you can?
Dave Skolnick (S/V Auspicious) says
Hi Cookie,
Best wishes to you. Some thoughts for you: plenty of things will change when you move aboard. Don’t try to change your cooking and eating habits right off the bat. Give yourself a year to get used to your new environment before you change things that can stay the same for a while.
With respect to canning it does work and it isn’t hard. Canned foods last almost indefinitely, at least for cruising purposes. You can certainly can chili with ground beef. I can’t think of anything you can find in a can on the shelf in the grocery that you can’t do yourself.
In my experience the things I can find commercially in cans tend to be a better value as long as they taste good to us. We can homemade pasta sauce, our family chili, and some stews and other dishes we really like. We also make pickles and some other odds and ends that we like when we are away from big shopping.
A couple of articles are recommend are Beth Leonard’s piece on canning: http://bethandevans.com/pdf/Canning.pdf and the USDA guidelines on home canning: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can#gsc.tab=0
I carry a 5 l Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker (which was a ‘moving aboard’ change for me) we cook in – including non-pressure dishes like pasta – and a 16 qt pressure canner we also use for crab boils and other “big pot” needs aboard.
sail fast and eat well, dave
S/V Auspicious
Becky Croston says
I would recommend a class on canning too — our County Extension office has classes and advice. Faulty canning can make you ill –or worse!
Nathalie Lanteigne says
I would’ve though organics could go overboard.
The Boat Galley says
Many don’t really get eaten. They just float on the surface and it’s pretty yucky for people nearby and really ugly on the beaches. I’ve been snorkeling and come across garbage either floating or littering the bottom and it’s not pretty!
ERIC MURRAY says
I know this reply is four years in the making, my daughter and I are educating ourselves for a future living aboard a bluewater boat. The thought we had regarding foodstuffs to be overboard bound, was to puree them in a blender prior to aid in disbursement,, breakdown and environmental implementation.. the thought of further adding to the pollution of our seas troubles us immensely. we are currently trying to home design our own 12 volt starter ran all in one plastic, metal and glass crusher. something about the size of a bread machine with a single ice bucket sized output container to be dumped into a small as possible compartmentalized recycling bin, til a land based recycleing center can be found…A very admired youtuber recently answered the question regarding garbage disposal, while I model all our plans more or less from their methods on adventure, packing, menu and overall sailing procedure, I was very taken back when their response to garbage was overboard and sinking it…one episode showed the wife throwing some form of galley refuse from the galley porthole, the seas response was a return flush in the form of a pounding wave flooding her galley floor. while I try not to be judgemental of peoples choices in life, we have done much irreversible damage to our planet. I believe better solutions to waste are available, or are due to be invented.
Nathalie Lanteigne says
I don’t imagine it is, I try to pick up whatever I come across, it drives my bf crazy 😉 thanks for the lesson, I’ll keep this info in mind for next season.
Skylar Walker says
for those with large enough freezers, store the zip lock garbage bags in the freezer until you’re able to dispose of them.
W. Gardner says
This may be a rookie question, but could food scraps go in the composting toilet?
Carolyn Shearlock says
The “No Stink” part of the composting toilet is because of the strict separation of liquids and solids. I’m afraid that putting many food scraps would make the “dry” area too wet and thus it would smart smelling. It would also fill up the solids area much faster.
Tweepy says
That’s an awful lot relevant remark.
But as Carolyn says, I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix together.
So why not having a dedicated device: a crank on one side, a fan+hose on the other side, in the cabinet under the sink: it would work like this ridiculous existing product: Food Cycler, but with much less energy.
Once you only have dry material, no more decomposing, it take less much space and can be discarded on shore as regular organic trash.
(sure, it’s a few years later response, but, hey, it still does apply)
Betina says
Would it work to vacuum pack the smelly goodies? We plan to keep a FoodSaver on board, and if we sort our trash, it seems like a workable idea. Please chip in.
Michelle Rene says
Where do most people keep their garbage? I have yet to find a good spot on my vessel, it’s always in the way. And what do people keep the trash in? I’ve considered an auto trash bag for the soft design to contain the trash somewhere but it won’t hold much. I do have an auto trash bag in the head and it’s nice as it closes tight to hold in any unwanted smells or spills.
The Boat Galley says
I keep the jar/bag on the counter next to the sink and put it in the sink when underway. For trash, we hang a bag from a hook . . . on our previous boat, we had a small waste basket that was bungeed in place by the companionway steps.
Eric Ludin says
We put our full garbage bags in the anchor locker.
Marta Crichlow says
Has anyone tried putting food garbage thru a blender or food processor? I don’t have either on my boat, storage would be a problem. But would macerate food waste for overboard disposal. ???
The Boat Galley says
Overboard just really isn’t good. Friends who are marine biologists say it’s not good for sea life, in addition to the fact that much of it floats.
Marta Crichlow says
Thanks! We keep ours in a coffee jar and discard in a marina. But just an idea. No room for an appliance anyway
Annie Hollywood says
I have a friend who uses a 2lt plastic juice bottle and a wooden spoon. She cuts eveything up in rams it into the Juice Bottle with the end of the spoon and replaces the cap. It’s amazing what fits in there after a few weeks a sea she steps off with only a few bottles full of cut up unavoidable plastic and others with scraps.
j.fay says
Food scraps are composed of water, organic hydrocarbons and about 3% ash. Modest heat will reduce it to nothing but carbon and ash, which reduces the volume by about 80%. This is the same process used to make charcoal. It will also make it odor free, dry and unappetizing to bugs. How do that without using fuel? With a solar cooker. I like the GoSun solar cooker because it it doesn’t spill and doesn’t require complicated aiming. With volume reduced by 80%, clean, dry, odor free and nothing bugs want, you can go a lot longer between tips to get rid of garbage. And, when disposal is priced on a per-bag basis, it saves money.
Ann-Marie says
We are just getting ready to embark on the same path you have outlined- live aboard at a marina for several years, then cast off. I was wondering how your adventure is going and if you have any advise for someone at the beginning steps of this?
Carolyn Shearlock says
We’ve been cruising 12 years now, on two different boat. Obviously love it!
If you take a look in The Boat Galley Resource Center, you’ll find sections on “Considering Cruising” if you’re still in the contemplating phase, and then “Preparing to Cruise” for the first steps towards cruising. I’ve laid out all the most relevant things there, and then you can branch out depending on the questions you have.
The Boat Galley Resource Center
Ann-Marie Gore says
Carolyn,
I have read many, if not all of your articles from the Considering and Preparing sections as well as many others that caught my eye- I prefer to read the rather than watch – over the past two years. Your information has been very helpful as we prepare for this new adventure. I am sure that we will discover things we wish we would have known or thought of in advance, once we move onto our cat this summer. I look forward to putting what I have read into practice😀. And going back and rereading once I know enough to know what I need to polish up on!
Sincerely,
Ann-Marie
Deborah Crawley says
I read where a lady uses a diaper gene on their boat. Greatest thing ever she said.
Col Delane says
A 20L plastic bucket with a tight-fitting snap-on lid (like those in which paint and other building products are often sold) lashed to the pushpit/stern rail, and containing a thick/strong garbage bag (with suitable tie to tightly seal it between openings) is a solution that works.