Disposing bathroom waste bags, where?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Note to self: Do not leave business forms or cards in my dump pile.

I will never leave MY business forms or cards in my dump pile.   Might leave yours 

Home depot now has "waterproof" lids for their 5 gallon bucket. Might not be new but today was first day I saw them. The have a rubber "O" ring in the lid. Hoping waterproof = less smell. Also planned on dbl bagging and then into a big bag. Thnx!

They probably exist, but I have never seen a non-sealable, non-waterproof cover for a 5 gallon bucket.  The difference with Gamma Seal covers is the ease in removal of a sealed cover.

. . . the used paper in the bag or garbage can didn't stink. Or maybe I should say it didn't stink for very long, with one major caveat: It is very important to leave it open to the air and not seal it tightly.

When I mentioned this to someone here locally, they said oh that may work for paper, but it will never work for the waste in the bags. Yes and no. 

If you left your used plastic waste bag completely open in your living space, you could reasonably predict what that would be like -- very stinky and unsanitary.  However, I've noticed that if I tie the bags and leave them in the bottom of the bucket, I get much less smell or no noticeable smell after a little while IF I either leave the luggable loo seat on or leave the bucket lid on but not sealed. 

The key in both cases is that neither is airtight.  I've also experimented recently with the reverse, putting the used bags in the bottom of the bucket tied up and sealing the lid as tightly as I can. When I took that lid off, it was very unpleasant in that bucket.

The proper amount of ventilation seems to be the key.

My experience is contrary (kind of like me).  My first multi-day boondocking trip I had a bucket with a luggable loo cover.  Smell was a constant presence.  I got used to it after a while but if I went outside and came back in I could smell it again. The bucket resided outside the rest of that trip.  And I was 'refreshing' the bucket every day, so the smell never went away.  Gamma Seal lid solves that problem.  I get some smell when I open the bucket but it is not overpowering, just a little more intense than with the non-sealing cover.  And my vent fan on high gets rid of that smell quickly.  This year I will be experimenting with cedar chips and pine needles in the bottom of the bucket as a cover scent.

From experience and reading I have learned that the biggest offender is mixing urine with feces (ever gone in an outhouse?  That smell doesn't dissipate for a week or more).  If one can separate the urine and poo the smell is reduced.  I no longer can do that as a recent surgery makes me leak while doing #2.  A little sawdust in the bag helps that (and traps the urine if the bag happens to get a hole).

 -- Spiff

 

[Wabbit]

Thnx for the responses. For smell the Home Depot waterproof lids work for odor. However, when I open that bucket to put in a fresh ties off bag...omg.

I have a 5 gallon bucket with lug a loo seat. I do my business and then tie off that bag and put it in other bag inside a second 5 gallon bucket with the water proof lid. This controls the odor for me. Its only been 3 days worth, but the odor is contained surprisingly well. It is a lot of plastic, but its the best I have come up with so far. The toilet is also an outside popup shower enclosure, but I can't smell anything when lid on the "keeper" bucket is closed.

Now to work up the courage? to toss it in a dumpster...lol. Seems wrong, but then again, what did I do with my kids diapers.

 

[cyanredagain]

Reading this thread it appears that there is a misconception that sanitation workers or transfer station workers handle the trash physically and separate things and such.
That might happen at a few rural county dumps maybe but the vast majority of trash is all handled by machines nowadays. No human handles the trash physically except on rare occasion.
Al long as you are throwing your bagged up waste in the TRASH and not the RECYCLE, I don't think there's anything to worry about. Notice I differentiated between trash and recycle. Workers do sort through the re-cycle materiel and they hate running into diapers and bagged up waste, human or animal.
I drove truck for 20 years and a lot of it was hauling both trash and recycle. Trust me, I know a thing or two about it.
Throw your stuff in the garbage: no problem.
Throw your stuff in the recycle: that's just not cool.

Hope that helps.

Al

 

[Wabbit]

I am very happy with what we have used for the last week. 2 separate 5 gallon buckets. 1 bucket with lug a loo seat and some cheap 4 gallon bags put in(one at a time, you use it you replace bag). When business finished, pull out that bag and tie it off(squeeze air out of that first business bag), then that gets placed inside a second bucket that is lined with the hvy duty black garbage bags, but also a second 4 gallon bag that get closed up every few days depending. With air squeezed out of each sperate " business" in its own cheap 4 gallon bag tied up and transfered to the 2cnd bucket with the waterproof lid, no orders even from a few feet away. Also when finally tossing the big black bag into the garbage, its hard to smell anything.

Hardest part is trying to keep urine and solids separate. When I "two", mybladder also let's go. This is resolved by putting Mr. Happy in a urine bottle when I sit. If this doesn't explain, I would be more than happy to make a video for you decent folks....

 

[TMG51]

Reading this thread it appears that there is a misconception that sanitation workers or transfer station workers handle the trash physically and separate things and such.
That might happen at a few rural county dumps maybe but the vast majority of trash is all handled by machines nowadays. No human handles the trash physically except on rare occasion.
Al long as you are throwing your bagged up waste in the TRASH and not the RECYCLE, I don't think there's anything to worry about. Notice I differentiated between trash and recycle. Workers do sort through the re-cycle materiel and they hate running into diapers and bagged up waste, human or animal.
I drove truck for 20 years and a lot of it was hauling both trash and recycle. Trust me, I know a thing or two about it.
Throw your stuff in the garbage: no problem.
Throw your stuff in the recycle: that's just not cool.

Hope that helps.

Al

A while back I watched a History Channel segment on waste and landfill facilities. They described newer facilities separating organic waste from trash to use as compost. The program showed a worker on the line sorting through refuse, occasionally picking something up and moving it - then he picked up a turtle. "Turtle?!" he said. "Turtle's compost," he concluded, and tossed it with a resounding flop onto the conveyer belt.

(Subtitles appeared to confirm that the turtle was, in fact, already dead.)

Anywho, not sure how this fits in with your story but I'm pretty sure poo bags also contain compost.

 

[Wabbit]

@TMG51, love that rig in your SIG.

 

[highdesertranger]

well I kept out of this thread because no one here seems to want to listen to me. here in southern California if you throw something away it goes to a transfer station, where it is sorted by a real human being, not a machine. don't believe me just go to a transfer station and watch what goes on. I am not saying don't do this or that. but to think a person is not going to come face to face with your poop because you double bagged it and threw it in the trash at a gas station is naïve at best. not making any friends with this post. highdesertranger

 

[GotSmart]

HDR, Not being a wise ass (this time) but do you have any suggestions? 

I buy biodegradeable bags.  Should I bury them?

 

[Wabbit]

No worries HDS, but one thing that struck me was the comment of where I put my kids diapers. I raised 5 kids, and all their diapers ended up in our trash.

Saying that and also never living in Cali, what's the compromise? How do you handle your biological waste? I'm asking because I DO care about downstream issues?

 

[highdesertranger]

as I said I am not trying to tell anybody what to do. I am just telling you all how it works here. if I am in an area where cat holes are not legal/practical, I use a port-a-potti and dump it at a dump station or a toilet. I do this where it's legal, in many locations they don't want you dumping in a outhouse. oh yeah I don't care what you do with diapers like I said I am not trying to tell anybody what to do. highdesertranger

 

[DannyB1954]

Question is, where can I dispose of these bags? If they can go in a reg trash can great, but thinking they might have to be disposed of differently?

Do you have an EX that you could send them to?
If not, you can use one of mine.

 

[highdesertranger]

C.O.D. I hope Danny. LOL. highdesertranger

 

[RVTravel]

Thnx for the responses. For smell the Home Depot waterproof lids work for odor. However, when I open that bucket to put in a fresh ties off bag...omg.

Shouldn't that be omfg?

 

[Wabbit]

For vault type toilets(ones the have to vacuum out), they do not want trash type stuff in there. Just pure waste and toilet paper. I'm sure they can handle the feminine products fine also. Saying that, I always look down in the hole(because you saw\read\heard that movie\article...) and I almost always see beer cans and other trash type things. Its gross to look, but I have never been grabbed by my butt cheeks and pulled in or seen a pair of eyes looking back up at me.

 

[Thirsty Boots Nomad]

Hardest part is trying to keep urine and solids separate. When I "two", mybladder also let's go. This is resolved by putting Mr. Happy in a urine bottle when I sit. If this doesn't explain, I would be more than happy to make a video for you decent folks....

LOL, no thanks; ... have the same situation and the same solution

 

[ArtW]

I used that same solution, to the same problem, as Cry and TBN
the porta potti was easier, until it was time to dump, at which time part of the problem was getting it out of that bitty little closet / head lol
Now I have a 40 gallon clack tank to dump, so I did a bit of plumbing on the property

 

[TrainChaser]

HDR:  It must depend on the state or area.  Here in W. WA, the truck stuff is loaded in garbage-hauler RR cars.  The stuff that I take to the transfer station personally is set on a raised concrete platform (by us), and then the scooper/shover Cat pushes it off the edge and into another garbage-hauler RR car.  They are then hauled by truck to the N. end of the local RR yard, put on the rails, attached to a locomotive, and sent to the Roosevelt Regional Landfill site in S. WA, and packed into a canyon.  

I worked with RR crews, and this is what they told me, plus what I saw for myself.  Here is a photo: http://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Garbage-train-cars.jpg

If you don't smell them going by, you can tell from the condition of the container boxes, as this is their final use before zombie transport.

The landfill is named after Franklin D -- I suspect that someone didn't like him much.

 

[NomadforNature]

I use those tiny dog poop bags (yes, I can poop directly into them), then double them with another poop bag. (and some of these bags are scented, which doesn't hurt)...anyway, I will then put them in my regular trash bag, and toss in a public dumpster if possible, but if I'm forced to use a regular trash can, say at Walmart, I will at least have the decency to drop it in one that is far away from the main entrance (just in case it gets smelly). I hope that having the waste in a brightly colored doggie poop bag, would be a warning to any dumpster divers that this is one bag they do not want to open up. However, my very first preference is to dispose of my poop in a pit toilet, if one is available. On that subject; I've looked all over the internet trying to find out if it's safe to put a doggie bag in a pit toilet, and have not been able to find anything definitive on the subject. They are biodegradable, but I'm still not sure if that makes it okay or not (I'm not talking other trash, just doggie bags). Does anyone have a sure answer to this question? Maybe a BLM, Forest Serive or NPS Ranger?

 

[Wabbit]

If you ever see a pumping truck at a vault toilet, they would also know about the doggie bags. Or same thing with the ports potties, see a guy swapping one out or pumping it out, they would know. No sure answer from me, but hopefully someone else does have one.

 

[DrJean]

If the doggie bags have wire in them, don't. Most of the honey dippers dump at the local sewer plant and while it can handle all sorts of things that get flushed, I doubt wire is one of them?