6 Useful Answers on Boats and Human Waste Disposal
In this age of climate change and environmental hyperawareness, it seems appropriate to address a question that many of us have pondered: What happens to human excrement from ships?
Is human waste a source of pollution in the ocean? Is it permissible to dispose of human excrement in the ocean? Is human excrement dumped in the water by all sorts of boats?
This post will attempt to address a few of these crucial concerns, as well as others!
Is it true that human garbage pollutes the ocean?
First and foremost, we’ll become a little more particular (sorry about that).
In general, urinating in water is very acceptable. This is due to the fact that urine is sterile. This simply implies that it has no biological beings.
This implies that, as Bear Grylls can attest, you could potentially drink your own pee if you really wanted to.
As a result, if pee finds out in the water, it poses no significant danger. Fecal matter, on the other hand, is a different issue.
Human excrement includes germs, diseases, and nutrients; thus, it is critical that it be kept away from places where people swim or drink water, since it may be quite dangerous.
Is it Legal to Throw Human Waste Into the Ocean?
Given the obvious risks of dumping human waste in water, it’s easy to understand why the EPA, in collaboration with the Coast Guard, regulates all inland water, including lakes, rivers, and coasts.
It is now unlawful to throw human excrement into any inland water or ocean less than 12 miles from coast, according to these rules.
Most prohibitions alter after you past this 12-mile cut-off, and international maritime laws, which are handled by the London-based International Maritime Organisation — a United Nations body – enable you to dump untreated sewage into the ocean.
Is Human Waste Dumped in the Ocean by Cruise Ships?
Cruise ships are authorized to deposit human waste in the ocean if certain requirements are satisfied, according to the 12-mile cut-off.
Many corporations, on the other hand, will create their own rules that its ships must follow.
For example, a director of communications for the Cruise Lines International Association explained that the organization follows a strict code of conduct:
6 Useful Answers on Boats and Human Waste Disposal
“While ocean-going ships can discharge untreated sewage into the ocean if they are at least 12 miles from land and traveling at a required speed…must verify each year their full implementation of CLIA’s Waste Management Policy, which prohibits the discharge of untreated sewage at sea, anytime, anywhere, around the globe…”
According to Nick Rose, an environmental regulatory lead at Royal Caribbean International, effluent from their cruise ships is discharged “cleaner than the ocean it may have started out as before being desalinated.”
So, how does this work in practice?
To comprehend this, you must first comprehend that there are two types of wastewater.
Grey water is the first kind, which is cleaner and contains waste from laundries, showers, kitchen appliances, and other sources.
The second sort of water is black water, which is tainted with feces.
The water that is flushed from the toilet is referred to as “black water”:
To begin, grey water is carefully blended with black water in precise quantities.
The water mixture is then delivered to bioreactors deep inside the ship’s innards.
Dangerous substances are filtered out within those bioreactors.
UV light disinfects the remainder of the liquid, making it safer for aquatic life.
Any residual bugs, such as fecal coliform, are subsequently monitored in the remaining water.
Finally, the water is dumped into the sea, which is now clean.
After that, the water is very clean and suitable for disposal in certain ports. Solids are, of course, left behind by the process.
About three tons of solids are burned or held until the garbage can be offloaded from the initial 1,200 tons each day.
Do All Boats Dispose of Human Waste in the Sea?
Many of these treatment systems were pioneered by the cruise ship industry, and they have the most cutting-edge technology available to ensure that their wastewater purification is cutting-edge.
However, not all boats have the size, capacity, or technology to effectively purify water.
The tiniest of boats, often ones designed to transport fewer than 15 passengers, may frequently slip through the cracks in national legislation.
As we’ve seen, once you’re more than 12 miles from shore, it’s theoretically legal to discharge raw sewage into the ocean.
As a result, it is up to the authorities of different territory to ensure that the rules governing their waterways are followed.
As you can see, huge cruise ships and even individual houseboats are subject to more tougher laws, thus smaller boats are more likely to dump human waste in the water, although this is not required.
Even on a tiny boat, there are several strategies to minimize pollution.
What are the Best Options for Disposing of Human Waste in the Ocean?
If you want an ecologically friendly toilet on your yacht, there are many alternatives to consider.
The two primary various kinds of toilets accessible for a boat are described below:
Toilet Cassette
A cassette toilet is just a toilet with a detachable waste tank, and it is by far the most cheapest sort of boat toilet.
Although there is a lot of variability, there are two fundamental types:
Incorporated (built into your boat as a permanent fixture)
Stand-alone (in which case you can tuck it into whichever corner suits your fancy)
Rinse water may be collected from the boat’s own water system in integrated forms, whilst a limited amount of rinse water is held in the top (seat and bowl) component of the structure in freestanding forms.
The cassette toilet has evolved from a basic two-part box that stows away under a seat to far more complicated variants with swivel chairs and motorized flush that mimic your house toilet in look (if not function).
Many people swear by cassette toilets because of its low cost, ease of use, and dependability. Basic versions may be purchased for as low as $90.00 and need very little room or disruption aboard.
Some individuals consider the ability to carry your waste tank to a disposal station (rather than having to transport your whole boat) to be a benefit, and the fact that these disposal locations are typically free to use is also a plus.
Toilet with a Pump
The pump-out toilet eliminates portability entirely.
Instead, a bigger storage tank permanently attached to your boat is used.
This means that you’ll have to use a marina’s pump-out facility to empty it, which normally costs $15-$20.00, although even on a liveaboard boat, a couple will seldom have to pump out more than once every three or four weeks.
Because the closest you get to the trash is seeing it depart via a viewing glass in the pump-out hose, the emptying procedure itself seems considerably more civilized.
There is no odor, and if you choose a porcelain model rather of a plastic replica, they will look and feel more like the toilets you would use at home.
How much sewage is thrown into the ocean each year?
Despite the fact that certain cruise ships are required to follow international laws imposed by different authorities, many others are not.
According to Friends of the Earth, a non-governmental environmental organization, a single 3,000-person cruise liner pours 150,000 gallons of sewage into the ocean every week, based on statistics from the US Environmental Protection Agency.
When all sorts of boats are included, the total amount might go as high as 1 billion gallons each year.
Last Thoughts
The issue of human waste being dumped into the water is a serious one.
Despite the efforts of many non-governmental organizations to impose their own rules, there is no specific legislation prohibiting it in international seas.
Boat owners are responsible for devising a system that works for them.
