Trash Disposal

I have a narrow tall-kitchen trash can that fits snuggly in the footwell behind oneof my twin side doors. I line it with a tall-kitchen trash bag. If I need to empty this trash can before a dumpster is available, I stack the snuggly-tied bag(s) on the floor in front of my passenger seat. Eventually, I throw them into any dumpster that has plenty of additional room (i.e. won't be filled), when there is no one around to possibly complain.

I do use paper plates to reduce my water use, and I have been working with the dogs to get them off the pee pads but I have 3 dogs. I guess I could break the trash down and use smaller bags, I hadn't thought of that. I do have some 4 gal bags, and I was saving the Walmart bags but I can only store so many before I have to start throwing them out.

I use the Walmart bags for trash and dispose of them frequently. They're so small and ubiquitous that no one pays any attention to me tossing a couple in provided waste cans while gassing up, walking up to a store, in a park etc...

Cheers!

I use a 5 gallon bucket with a Walmart bag inside. Plus the bucket can be used for a number of other things i.e. carry water,a seat,Porta potty, table for 1.etc.

Ravella and X said:

Oh, a third way- it doesn’t help the planet, but it does reduce your trash- remove all excess packaging at the store parking lot before you bring items into your rig. Drop the excess right into the parking lot trash cans.

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I do this.

I use Walmart bags to pick up after my dog when we walk, but don’t like them for trash because of their tendency to easily split and deposit coffee grounds r whatever onto my floor and/or rug.

John in Montreal said:

I use the empty water bottles so they're sealed up nice and tight, it's all good.

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Until your trash finds it's way to a compactor. And, it will.

I'm sure the compacter can handle it.

Call the nearest garbage transfer station and ask about small deposits.

For those who don't want to dump urine into a hole in the ground, consider where urine goes when a toilet empties into a residential septic tank.

Depending on the place, it changes. If I am boondocking my greywater (suitably free of biohazards) and pee go onto a carefully selected piece of ground. It's what mother nature has been doing since animals began. Poop is buried in degradable bags. In roadside and urban areas, then I look for public toilets to empty jugs and bags into. Used bags go into the trash alongside other people's diapers and dog poop. I would argue my overall ethical and environmental practices against anyone willing to actually get beyond what the signs say. Such as thinking beyond just where you put your body waste. What do you consume and what else do you contribute to our waste stream? What is our overall impact before we start criticizing others?

I can find a dumpster or garbage can anywhere when I need it, LOL. We have no issues dumping as we hit places. I do tend to use smaller bags so like another said, into the smaller type garbage receptacles that are at rest stops or in front of stores. Boondocking for a bit at some point you are on the move and when ya are, stop, even if at a few places and unload as you can. We do that

The question was about Trash Disposal NOT waste disposal. I have absolutely NO reason or desire to dump human waste or grey/black water on the ground.

RonDean said:

. . . . Poop is buried in degradable bags. . . .

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Hey yea! You are the only other person I know, doing it that way. I have a standard post-hole digger for the purpose, which burries it deep while only disturbing a tiny patch of the ground. Glad to know I'm not alone in my technique.

Freelander said:

How does everyone dispose of trash when boon docking??

I use a 13 gallon can with bags and I am looking for ideas on where I can put my trash without having problems.

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We eliminate waste at the source...
At the exit of the grocery store, we peel cardboard and plastic wrappers.
Everything goes in the can at the front of the store.
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I think a 13-gallon bag of trash would be abusing their hospitality.
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I can see a gallon-size plastic grocery-bag, easy for one person to drop in as we pass at a trundling roll with the cart.
And we always have a cart going in.
We forage them from the lot or corral, part of our 'good neighbor' policy.
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Your big honking bag sounds quite the procedure:
* a -- one dropper operates the cart
* b -- the second dropper lifts the cover of the can
* c -- the third dropper man-handles the load toward the vaguely center of the can
* the second dropper fits the bag mostly inside the can through a series of punches, and if necessary, a few kicks for good measure.
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During the approximately hour-and-a-half process, I might think a fourth dropper could come in handy to channel traffic.
Orange vest and hard-hat and clip-board add to the Vision Of Legitimacy.
Lime-cone flashlight optional.
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Partially empty with a nonchalant sigh without breaking stride:

LargeMarge said:

I think a 13-gallon bag of trash would be abusing their hospitality.

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I use tall-kitchen bags, so looked up their size and read "13 gallons". Wow.

It's the most practical size for me. But I never leave them anywhere except near the bottom of a full-size dumpster with little else in it; otherwise, I move on, keeping it -- and any of its brothers -- in front of my passenger seat. I never have to "stuff" it anywhere because I never use anything small like those barrel cans near store exits. That's crazy to do, and clearly disrespectful.

Freelander, if you’re going to be camping where there is no dumpster and disposal service, I would look for every way possible to reduce the amount of garbage you generate.

Might be able to dry out and then burn the pee pads, along with any other paper and cardboard.

Just a thought.

I don't think LargeMarge was directing his post to anybody in particular Freelander, but to the general forum public about how disgusting plastic bags / garbage is when people living in vehicles (like most of the people on this forum) behave like in the photos. When people are polite, and think about how much garbage they are producing, and also how to dispose responsibly it's better for everyone. I think that was his point.
Correct me if I'm wrong LargeMarge.

Here's what we did when we had one kitchen size garbage bag to get rid of, no public garbage dumpsters in sight. Went to an ace hardware purchased an item that we needed and asked where we could dump. The cashier said there's a dump up the road but it costs $15-20 no matter how much you dump. Then he asked how much we had. When I said one 13gal bag he said "I'll open up our dumpster for you." We thanked him and went on our way. And of course now I will go to that ace for my hardware. It was kind of him and good customer service. My point is sometimes you just need to ask.

Here's a video about how to tie those plastic grocery bags into a very compact bundle.

I use at least 2 pee pads a day so Walmart sacks won't last very long. I have a 13 gal bag of trash maybe once a week. And most of that is the pee pads.

BTW it's not just people living in vehicles who need to be considerate about this ... sticks and bricks people sometimes take advantage of public or commercial trash bins too. It's rarely been an issue for me (though I did once have a landlady who encouraged me to use the dumpster behind the Winn Dixie) (she also told the pet owners to hide their dogs when the insurance guy came around -- a real princess) ... but people who have to pay for their own trash pickup, and don't want to, can also behave badly. It's not all on the nomads.

Freelander, I responded to bio-waste disposal because some other posts referenced it before I arrived. It is a subject that does need to be addressed by many of us, even if it is not your question. I have issues with the eco-sense of people's black tank to the "approved" dump station, but that is another issue. In my experience, whoever opens a thread does NOT own it.

However, I also understand your concerns. Trash is a somewhat different problem. For starters, I use reusable shopping bags. Then I try to buy in "bulk" - also using reusable containers. I don't put produce in those handy plastic bags provided by stores. The produce has never seen packaging anywhere from field to store and yet people put them in plastic just to carry them home. Silly!

Unfortunately, there are fewer recycling options for nomads. And to be honest, I have serious doubts about the recycle bins garbage companies provide to sticks and bricks people. Too often it all ends up in the landfill anyway. Until we start holding the producers and retailers responsible, it just won't change. The end-user just doesn't have the facilities to deal with it. Even burning waste is not good. And a proper compost system is just about impossible for nomads.

I will watch this thread in case anyone has any solutions I have missed. I am always willing to learn a new trick.

I also have a problem with storage, I don't buy in bulk because I have very little room to store things. I have gone to paper plates to cut down on water use so I may have to stop doing that. Dumping the waste tanks and getting water isn't really a problem, but most places that have dump sites don't have trash dumpsters.

I do have some 4 gallon bags and a small can I can use to place the pee pads in, that would help with the trash somewhat. And just use the big can when I have a large dumpster handy.

I guess damned if you do and damned if you don't.