By instituting a few best practices aboard your vessel, you can ensure that you’re doing your part to protect our waterways.
It’s all about the waste
- Retrieve trash, monofilament or other debris from the water (even if it isn’t yours). Keep a net and trash bag handy for this purpose.
- Recycle cans, glass, plastics and monofilament line. Keep a clearly marked recycling container onboard.
- Limit the packaging and plastic you take on board, and use reusable food and beverage containers.
When you’ve got to go, go green
- Use restrooms onshore prior to departure.
- Use only approved Marine Sanitation Devices underway.
- Use pump-out stations; never discharge raw sewage offshore.
Don’t be a drip
- Know how much fuel your tanks hold, and don’t overfill or top off tanks. Use absorbent pads to catch drips, and dispose of them properly.
- Keep your engine tuned, and watch for leaking seals, gaskets, hoses and fuel lines. Place an oil-absorbent pad underneath the engine and replace it as needed.
- Keep your bilge clean and dry. If oily water does collect, swirl an oil-absorbent pad in the bilge water to collect the oil. Pump oily water into a dockside holding tank or leave it to the professionals to remove. Never discharge it overboard.
For more clean boating tips, download a copy of the America’s Boating Club Environmental Best Practices for Boaters brochure at bit.ly/ABC-greenboating.
