Trash Compactor Blues

Hello, I am a new member of Trawler Forum. I have been cruising Alaskan and Canadian Waters on my 45' trawler for 16 years. Chartered on Prince William Sound for 12 years. My 25 year old trawler is a gem. We re-fitted her a few years ago and she is a joy to cruise on. Last fall my Broan 12" trash compactor gave it up with a lot of clunking and grinding. The idea was to just replace it with a new one. Ahhh, big problem as all the trash compactors seem to be 15" now and there is no way I can fit a 15 incher in. Anyone have an old one, anyone know of a dealer that offers a 12"compactor, anyone ever rebuild one of these???? Can't imagine being out for 2 weeks without it!!!
Thanks ahead of time.

Valhellian said:

Hello, I am a new member of Trawler Forum. I have been cruising Alaskan and Canadian Waters on my 45' trawler for 16 years. Chartered on Prince William Sound for 12 years. My 25 year old trawler is a gem. We re-fitted her a few years ago and she is a joy to cruise on. Last fall my Broan 12" trash compactor gave it up with a lot of clunking and grinding. The idea was to just replace it with a new one.

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Funny thing...I read your message after we finished a particularly nice bottle of Syrah...and I was going to say that you're not going to like my response - you should remove the trash compactor completely because it is at odds with your MARPOL garbage plan, as referenced by your garbage placard.

Then I realized you said compactor, not disposal.

Nevermind.

Trash compactor? Haven't seen one of those over 30 years ago.

I have one. Hugely useful at transforming 30 lbs of garbage into 30 lbs of garbage!

I have one but so far haven't used it. I think it will be 12" wide. Old, but seems to work ie it starts when turned on. I'll give it a try in a few weeks time when I get back to the boat, but could be tempted to sell it.

I know you are in BC but this place is an institution in Northern California. They have knowledgeable countermen and can normally diagnose issues on most appliances. At the very least they could fax or email you some literature that will help you repair.

A PED Appliance Parts

Full disclosure: I have no affiliation with this outfit except for being a satisfied customer.

refugio said:

I have one. Hugely useful at transforming 30 lbs of garbage into 30 lbs of garbage!

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Yes, but it will be much smaller garbage.

I've never owned one, at home or on my boat, but I see that some cities are now charging by the bag for garbage collection. If they ever start that where I live, I'll get one. Or just haul my garbage to the nearest vacant lot!

rwidman said:

...some cities are now charging by the bag for garbage collection....If they ever start that where I live, I'll get one

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Well, a smaller 30lb bag of garbage is still "a bag" and would be charged the same rate. We have one at home and maybe get 1 compaction per week - though it really gets a workout if we have a party. Bags are expensive and harder to find (I bought a year's supply on Amazon). Honestly, on a boat I only think it's of use of you are doing substantial cruising between garbage dumps so your accumulated garbage takes up less space.

Mine also is the source of a persistent rattle at a certain cruising RPM. I've wedged a crumpled paper towel against the compacting element to reduce it.

FWIW, I've been thinking about removing mine and replacing it with a slide out combo for trash and recycle.

Compactor.

Thanks for the replies. I will try the appliance store in Northern Cal.
Unlike most cruisers we do not care to go from one marina to the next. We would rather be swinging on the hook. We have gone 5 weeks without visiting a dock. So the 30 lbs. of trash indeed gets in the way. Nice to have it "compacted".
Where we live not only do they charge for garbage but you are allowed only two bags every two weeks. Necessitating separation for re-cycle and pulling out all organics for compost. Being Alaskan I rallied against this at first but now I see that it is a great idea. We need to keep this planet as clean as we can. Enough said on that subject.
Insequent, thanks, could be costly to get it here from Australia!!
Oh yeah, my marpol sticker is on the from of my trash compactor!!!

Why not just replace the Broan? Broan 105X 12" Trash Compactor with 1.4 Cu. Ft. Capacity, Safety Lock & Swing Away Door

On long trips, a compactor is really nice to have, since you can store a month's of garbage in a pretty small space. Organics all go over the side to feed the fishes, so as long as we only put not rotting stuff into the compactor smell isn't an issue.

refugio said:

Well, a smaller 30lb bag of garbage is still "a bag" and would be charged the same rate.

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But you could put multiple compacted bags into a regular trash bag. Or perhaps they charge extra for multiple or larger garbage carts. If your garbage won't fit into a single cart, compacting it could save you the rental on an additional cart.

Just saying, there can be reasons for a compactor. Of course, just crushing cans and plastic bottles and cardboard boxes manually can save a lot of space at no cost.

Valhellian said:

Hello, I am a new member of Trawler Forum. I have been cruising Alaskan and Canadian Waters on my 45' trawler for 16 years. Chartered on Prince William Sound for 12 years. My 25 year old trawler is a gem. We re-fitted her a few years ago and she is a joy to cruise on. Last fall my Broan 12" trash compactor gave it up with a lot of clunking and grinding. The idea was to just replace it with a new one. Ahhh, big problem as all the trash compactors seem to be 15" now and there is no way I can fit a 15 incher in. Anyone have an old one, anyone know of a dealer that offers a 12"compactor, anyone ever rebuild one of these???? Can't imagine being out for 2 weeks without it!!!
Thanks ahead of time.

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We also operate out of Southcentral Alaska, and have probably run into each other over the years.

We have a trash compactor both at home and on the new boat. They are great at reducing the volume of trash, which can be very handy on a boat. Like you, I cannon think of being without a trash smasher.

Since there are no 12" models available, and you cannot fit a 15" unit, can you rebuild yours?

We have one at home, it works very well. None on the boat but I can see it would be very usefull on a boat especially in areas where one is charged by the bag for garbage disposal, you could fit three bags worth of garbage, or more, into one for the dinghy trip ashore.
Steve W

Delfin said:

Organics all go over the side to feed the fishes...

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Legally? Not dockside, and not within "Rivers, Bays, Sounds and within 3 miles from shore".

If you are within "3 to 12 miles from shore" you can legally do this for waste "consisting of foodstuffs only, smaller than one inch in size".

If you are over 40 feet, all of this should be specified in your "written waste management plan".

In the PNW, it is illegal to dump anything overboard in Puget Sound - the three to twelve nautical mile regulations refer to offshore, west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Penalties can be substantial: "Captains violating the requirements of the MARPOL TREATY may face civil penalty up to $25,000 or a fine up to $50,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment."

Delfin said:

Why not just replace the Broan? Broan 105X 12" Trash Compactor with 1.4 Cu. Ft. Capacity, Safety Lock & Swing Away Door

On long trips, a compactor is really nice to have, since you can store a month's of garbage in a pretty small space. Organics all go over the side to feed the fishes, so as long as we only put not rotting stuff into the compactor smell isn't an issue.

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I just clicked on the link and it says discontinued where there might be a price.

Broan

YeahI tried that too, also tried GE and a couple of others. I am looking into used equipment now and the possibility of rebuilding the old one.

scarletbison said:

I just clicked on the link and it says discontinued where there might be a price.

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Hate it when that happens....

Might be worth looking at CL - you can even do a nationwide Google search with (for instance) '12" trash compactor site:craigslist.org', which returns a few that have been sold / removed including "GE Monogram" and "Thermadore" units. So they ARE out there.

Delfin said:

............. Organics all go over the side to feed the fishes, ............

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Technically, of course, that is illegal. I'm not really sure why though. You can grind up fish, throw it overboard and call it chum, but if you don't have a fishing rod in your hand, it's "garbage".

Who makes these laws?

refugio said:

Legally? Not dockside, and not within "Rivers, Bays, Sounds and within 3 miles from shore".

If you are within "3 to 12 miles from shore" you can legally do this for waste "consisting of foodstuffs only, smaller than one inch in size".

If you are over 40 feet, all of this should be specified in your "written waste management plan".

In the PNW, it is illegal to dump anything overboard in Puget Sound - the three to twelve nautical mile regulations refer to offshore, west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Penalties can be substantial: "Captains violating the requirements of the MARPOL TREATY may face civil penalty up to $25,000 or a fine up to $50,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment."

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Again, what about "chum"? What's the difference if it's your leftovers from dinner or fish you bought for bait? What about leftover bait? Everyone I know throws it into the water.

Every marina I have been to that has a fish cleaning station (mine has one), the fish scraps, heads, etc., are simply tossed in the water. One I was at recently had signs directing fishermen to dump their discards at the end of the pier.

These laws make criminals out of a lot of people.

I don't know if it's a law, but in TX there is a program trying to get people NOT to throw their waste from the fish cleaning stations in the water. They say it's harmful, and to throw it in the garbage. So what about all the poor, starving crabs?

rwidman said:

Who makes these laws?

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That would be the governments of the 150 countries party to the agreement: MARPOL 73/78 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Enforcement, of course, can be a significant problem.

I am no expert, but I would think that chumming would be an obvious exception. As for the folks who throw fish / crab bits into the water from the dock, that's not from a vessel - and I'd be way more afraid of the local DFW - the fishing regulations in the Washington State are a huge annual "pamphlet" (136 pages, 19mb PDF) that even includes changes continuously posted on a web site.

If an incident did arise, don't you think you'd be better off starting from a position of compliance (having a posted waste management plan and knowing the law) rather than ignorance?

rwidman said:

Again, what about "chum"? What's the difference if it's your leftovers from dinner or fish you bought for bait? What about leftover bait? Everyone I know throws it into the water.

Every marina I have been to that has a fish cleaning station (mine has one), the fish scraps, heads, etc., are simply tossed in the water. One I was at recently had signs directing fishermen to dump their discards at the end of the pier.

These laws make criminals out of a lot of people.

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A former governor of Washington State who was also a prior head of the Atomic Energy Commission wrote a book titled "Environmental Overkill." One of her messages was that the zealotry of environmentalists was producing laws that made no sense, and as a result was producing laws that would be ignored or achieve the opposite result to what they wanted. One example was a ban on pleasure boats flushing their toilets into Puget Sound. Noting that point pollution sources - like raw sewage discharges from municipalities was a disaster that had to be fixed - non point discharges like flushing a toilet while underway were actually beneficial. The reason is that she said that Puget Sound is actually nitrogen deficit, and the best thing that could happen would be for more boaters to make their little contribution to a thriving eco system by discharging directly into the Sound.

You also see this in the oceans. I heard a lecture on a paper recently published that argued that one of the best things we could do to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere was to ban whaling, since whale poop is a major source of nutrients, especially phosphorous, on which Krill depend, and Krill apparently convert a lot of CO2. Presumably flushing the sewage system of a cruise liner might also be beneficial offshore, but the practice would give most environmentalists the hives.

Until recently, the city of Victoria, B.C. discharged all their sewage directly into the strait of Juan de Fuca near Race Rocks. Because of tidal movement, and the depth of the water this location was considered to be the world's best natural sewage treatment plant, and the Salmon certainly didn't seem to mind since this area was also one of the best fishing grounds on the lower Island. I believe Victoria ceased this practice not because of scientific concerns, but because they were tired of the bad press.

I certainly wouldn't dump carrots peelings over the side in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake, even though the crabs would probably appreciate it. But worrying about the effect of a ham bone dropped into the Strait of Georgia is about as brainless as worrying about all that rotting seaweed on the shoreline.

p.s. I always instantly remove the "Do not remove under penalty of law" tags on mattresses.

Obviously, we don't want the QE II dumping garbage or emptying holding tanks in the local harbors, but they have written the laws to apply equally to all boats. Fish parts may be chum to one person, but they are garbage to another.

Many of the boaters I know routinely empty their holding tanks into the water closer than three miles from shore. Considering all the fish and marine animals already pooping in the water, what's a little more from humans?