John Coxon cannot see boaters' recycling rubbish working

I CANNOT SEE this boaters' rubbish recycling working as CaRT assume it will, writes John Coxon.

Most boats don't have the room to store separate waste like CaRT are expecting them to, especially as the distances between waste disposal sites are getting longer and longer with CaRT taking the bins away in so many places.

Okay if in a marina

It may be okay for the marina based and holiday boats to store a couple of weeks worth of rubbish on board but a continuous cruiser can go six or even eight weeks between disposal sites as is already happening in some areas.

The risk of animals like rats and dogs etc. ripping the storage bags open increases the longer it is stored aboard as the smell increases attracting such scavengers to it! I no longer store organic waste like peelings etc. with my rubbish, they go into the hedge.

If CaRT want boaters to fully implement this then they need to ensure there is a properly maintained waste disposal site next to, or at the very least close to, each water point.

Put in any bin not full

Also CaRT will need to ensure the bins are actually emptied regularly so there is room to put the requisite items in each bin? If they get full, as is often the case, then rubbish will just be put in any bin that has room or if they are all full, on the floor, as is done now!

Also preventing locals from fly-tipping their rubbish in boaters bins needs to be more actively pursued. Plastering the site with notices telling them not to fly-tip has no effect what-so-ever! It is not unusual to turn up to a waste disposal site to find it full of household and garden waste!

It's a major problem storing rubbish long term on a boat, especially in hot weather. This recycling idea will just make it harder to store so that many boaters will just not bother.

Never know when you can get rid

Asking boaters to keep it onboard longer and longer just because the bins are full is definitely not on. You just never know when you might get the opportunity to get rid id of it, so on the floor it goes!

If CaRT want this recycling to happen then they will need to ensure the full facilities are provided at enough sites to make it practical for boaters to be able to comply. To paraphrase an old saying—give us the tools and we can do the job...if not, don't blame us when it all goes wrong!