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Waste Containment and Disposal
Reduce Waste
• Encourage boaters to exchange excess paints, thinners, varnishes, etc. To facilitate this type of activity,
provide a visible location where boaters can post notices that they are seeking or have an excess of
particular materials.
• Avoid having leftover materials by sizing up a job, evaluating what your actual needs are, and buying
just enough product for the job. Encourage boaters to do the same.
• Minimize office waste: make double-sided copies; use scrap paper for notes and messages; purchase
recycled office paper; and reuse polystyrene peanuts or give them to companies that will reuse them like
small scale packing and shipping companies.
• Request alternative packing material from vendors, i.e., paper, potato starch peanuts, popcorn, etc.
• Discourage the use of plastic and styrofoam cups, food containers, utensils, and other non-biodegradable
products.
• Post the names of local schools, churches, volunteer home renovation groups, theater groups, and others
that are willing to accept excess, non-toxic paints.
Non-Hazardous Waste
Solid Waste
• Provide accessible, well-marked, well-lit and lidded trash and recycling receptacles. Empty and clean
the receptacles at least weekly.
• Select containers that are large enough to hold the expected volume of trash. On average, 4 to 6 gallons
capacity is needed per person per vessel per day. A cubic yard of dumpster space holds 216 gallons
of trash.
• Contact a waste hauler or your local solid waste recycling coordinator to learn what materials are
collected in your area.
• Post information about local recycling services if you are not able to provide all of the desired services
at your facility.
• Do not place trashcans or recycling containers on docks, as waste may inadvertently blow into the water.
Also, training boaters to bring their own trash to a central garbage area means less work for you and
your staff.
• Require all employees to be involved in policing the facility for trash and vessel maintenance wastes.
Do not allow litter to collect on the ground or near shore
• Use a pool skimmer or crab net to collect floating debris that collects along bulkheads or elsewhere
within your marina.
• Plant or construct a windscreen around the dumpster to make the area more attractive and to prevent
trash from blowing away. Use native shrubs.
Fish Waste
Large amounts of fish guts deposited in an enclosed area can produce foul odors and impair water quality
through decreased dissolved oxygen and increased bacteria levels.
• Provide facilities for fish cleaning and carcass disposal.
• Provide a stainless steel sink equipped with a garbage disposal that is connected to a sanitary sewer.
(Note: fish heads, large carcasses, and fish skin will clog up the disposal.)
• Provide garbage containers for fish carcasses and empty garbage containers regularly.
• Prohibit fish cleaning outside of designated areas.
• Implement fish composting where appropriate.
• Use a grinder to make chum out of fish carcasses. Sell the chum at your marina store.
• Arrange for crabbers to take fish carcasses.
• Prohibit fish cleaning at your marina.
• Educate people on the water quality problems associated with excess fish waste in marina waters.
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