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Stash
Your Trash
 Anyone
who has been to the beach knows that there is a lot of garbage floating
around in our coastal waters and ending up on shore. Most of this garbage
makes its way down to the water's edge through street gutters and storm
drains that flow directly into local creeks. However, a small percentage
may still be originating from vessels.
Why
Should I Care?
Garbage in the water
looks bad, and can cause problems for both wildlife and for boaters. A
significant number of boaters have had cool-water intake valves clogged
by plastic bags, causing engine overheating and expensive repairs. Others
have had monofilament fishing line wrapped around their propeller, and
others have seen enough trash in the water to be able to use it to follow
the direction of the current flows!
 The
Law:
Under U.S. law, it is illegal to put any garbage into the water from a
vessel that is on a lake, river, stream, or any coastal waters up to 3
miles offshore. In the Great Lakes, this no garbage law applies everywhere.
As you venture further
offshore, the law loosens a bit. The biggest thing to remember is that
no matter where you are NO plastic garbage should ever go into the water.
If your vessel is
40’ and longer, you are required to have a “MARPOL”
placard as well as a written waste management plan. These plans simply
identify procedures for collecting, processing, storing and discharging
the vessel’s garbage in accordance with the law. You also need to
identify who is going to carry out the plan. It is a good idea to educate
each passenger and crew about how to handle garbage in accordance with
the plan. Please note these plans need to be stored on board. A good place
to put them is with the vessels official papers. Click
here to see a couple of examples of waste management plans.
Under the same law,
marinas are required to have adequate trash receiving capability for their
normal customers. (The Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act
of 1997 is Title II of Public Law 100-200.)
What
Can I Do?
-
Reduce the amount
of packaging and plastic you take aboard.
-
Establish a policy
on your boat that nothing goes overboard - even apple cores and cigarette
butts. Alert all guests and crew to this policy.
-
Make sure your
garbage can is easily accessible on the boat, and on open boats, make
sure it has a lid to keep light plastics from catching wind and flying
away.
-
Obey the law-
always keep garbage on the boat for onshore disposal. Better yet,
recycle cans, plastic and other items.
-
Post our bilingual
"Stash Your Trash" poster at a waterfront business or boat
facility. Distribute our brochure about the law to your local boating
group. To order copies of the “Stash Your Trash” poster
click
here.
-
Download a copy
of the "Stash Your Trash" brochure! Brochure is available
in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, to download click
here. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat, download a free copy by
clicking here.
Did
you know?... Sea turtles love to eat jellyfish. In their search for the
clear colored, pulsing delicacy, they often eat clear plastic ice bags
instead. |
