Chemical Disposal Points

[Dave Preston]

I have just returned form a fantastic trip to the Outer Hebrides in my camper. Wild camping is no problem, taking on water is not bad but finding places to dispose of the toilet contents is not so easy. As far as I could ascertain there is 1 CDP on Harris and 1 on Lewis, which we used. We had to go on sites 2 nights for this reason; I also asked a number of sites if we could pay to dispose of toilet waste and they refused, and one owwner explained that he is entitled to 1 pickup per year and if he has another he has to pay £500-750. Most public toilets have signs asking people not to dispose of chemical toilet waste as it may damage the environment and are community funded, which I respect.

How about a CDP POI database? I can add 2

 

[dave and mary]

Years ago you dug a hole and emptied your cassette in it filled up the hole and put a few stones on the top, is this not ok now ? :drive: :drive:

 

[Wooie1958]

We`ve recently been over to Harris and Lewis and only found " 1 Official CDP " at the Ferry Terminal at Leverburgh.

That was thanks to a Bus Driver on the car park in Tarbert because when we asked at the T.I.C. it drew a blank.

 

[Smaug]

Long distance busses carry chemical loos, so all their terminals must be able to dispose of waste, & I suspect that many M-way services should too. In addition the Canal & Waterways Trust (formerly British Waterways) have disposal points along the canals which are accessible by purchasing the key from CWT.

Most towns will have a "Hazardous Waste disposal" company, maybe they will take our waste - for a fee. The sort of companies that drain you car tank when you fill with the wrong fuel, or deal with industrial waste spills.

None of this helps you in places like Scottish Islands tho!

If anyone is near us (ST21 6HN; OI785 284 45O) then I wouldn't object to them using our septic tank as I do myself - but clearly this can only be available to a few people as we are off the beaten track, parking is difficult & too many cassetttes with chemicals in will kill the bugs in it.

I'll bet we have a few members dotted around the country that might be able to offer something similar.

Getting back to the original situation, it is likely that the Hebridean toilets will get a lot of vans emptying waste with chemicals in it which will damage the treatment plants. But lots of people on here suggest using Bio washing powder or no additives at all, either of those alternatives would reduce the potential damage & may also make burying less damaging. It is within living memory that many homes (mine included) used an earth closet in the garden as a toilet & we were still digging latrine trenches on rural Scout camps in the 1980's.

 

[Wooie1958]

Long distance busses carry chemical loos, so all their terminals must be able to dispose of waste, & I suspect that many M-way services should too. In addition the Canal & Waterways Trust (formerly British Waterways) have disposal points along the canals which are accessible by purchasing the key from CWT.

Most towns will have a "Hazardous Waste disposal" company, maybe they will take our waste - for a fee. The sort of companies that drain you car tank when you fill with the wrong fuel, or deal with industrial waste spills.

None of this helps you in places like Scottish Islands tho!

If anyone is near us (ST21 6HN; OI785 284 45O) then I wouldn't object to them using our septic tank as I do myself - but clearly this can only be available to a few people as we are off the beaten track, parking is difficult & too many cassetttes with chemicals in will kill the bugs in it.

I'll bet we have a few members dotted around the country that might be able to offer something similar.

Getting back to the original situation, it is likely that the Hebridean toilets will get a lot of vans emptying waste with chemicals in it which will damage the treatment plants. But lots of people on here suggest using Bio washing powder or no additives at all, either of those alternatives would reduce the potential damage & may also make burying less damaging. It is within living memory that many homes (mine included) used an earth closet in the garden as a toilet & we were still digging latrine trenches on rural Scout camps in the 1980's.

I think you`ll find it`s the Canal & River Trust ( CRT ) and not Waterways as you say.

See Here :- Canal & River Trust

 

[Wooie1958]

Whist on Harris and Lewis i lost count of the number times we saw in Laybys and Gutters where people had emptied their cassettes.

 

[Smaug]

Whist on Harris and Lewis i lost count of the number times we saw in Laybys and Gutters where people had emptied their cassettes.

That's appalling & not what I saw when I was there a few years back. Is this the rise in hire vans I wonder, where people have no understanding of, or training about, the problems we can cause to the communities we visit?

This is the sort of thing that will get us banned from the islands. It needs some high profile convictions of people perpetrating that sort of abuse. My wife has just told me that wild camping HAS ben banned on at least one of the islands & while you are free to go anywhere during the day, you MUST stop overnight on an offical campsite.

Mind you, I doubt even that would stop that sort of behaviour, as such people would probably just dump when it fills & never check when it is getting near full. We carry a spare cassette in the shower so it is easy to switch cassettes at a moment's notice but you then have a couple of days to empty the full cassette in a more suitable place.

 

[TWS]

TBH I don't use any blue loo liquid in my toilet and can't see a problem with just flushing the contents down a normal bog standard loo when or if you find one, with the owners permission of course. Am I in a minority ? I'm up in Scotland at the moment and ain't had a problem yet, I try to avoid sites as it just isn't my thing but I would happily pay a few quid to empty my loo and top my water tanks up.

 

[maingate]

I can empty my cassette in a public toilet without making a mess.

What is wrong with that? When we get home from a trip, I empty it down my own toilet in the house. I see no difference.

I also carry a folding shovel but have only needed to bury waste once.

 

[Deleted member 967]

Burial is still an accepted way by Natural England with the land owners permission.

We use an SSSI site in the south lake and burial of toilet waste in the back dunes is specified in the management agreement. Done properly it is no hazard. This also goes for spreading grey water over areas where people will not walk, such as along hedge lines.

Quote from Natural England

For touring other than on sites equipped with toilets, will carry his/her own sanitary equipment (usually chemical closet and approved related fluid) and dispose of the contents only at a point provided for the purpose. If burial is necessary, as perhaps on private property, this will not be done in the vicinity of any water course. Avoids damage to turf by digging holes only when absolutely necessary, and replacing turf where possible.

Allows no waste water from the caravan to foul the ground, ensures that suitable receptacles are connected to the waste water pipes to collect the waste, and the receptacles emptied as necessary. In the few instances where no disposal point is provided, minimum fouling is achieved by distributing the water over a considerable area, as along a hedge

end quote


John

 

[Dave Preston]

Cdp

My thoughts:-
The other CDP on the Outer Hebrides is on the causeway East of Stornoway.

We did empty our casette into a public toilet once, but some have signs asking you not to - the issue is they often drain to a septic tank which a local community has to pay to have drained and if a lot of wild campers do this it seems unfair. I would gladly pay, but as we found out, other than paying the full campsite fee this may prove difficult.

 

[maingate]

My thoughts:-
The other CDP on the Outer Hebrides is on the causeway East of Stornoway.

We did empty our casette into a public toilet once, but some have signs asking you not to - the issue is they often drain to a septic tank which a local community has to pay to have drained and if a lot of wild campers do this it seems unfair. I would gladly pay, but as we found out, other than paying the full campsite fee this may prove difficult.

Fit a SOG.

You do not need to add chemicals to the toilet cassette.

 

[Wooie1958]

That's appalling & not what I saw when I was there a few years back. Is this the rise in hire vans I wonder, where people have no understanding of, or training about, the problems we can cause to the communities we visit?

This is the sort of thing that will get us banned from the islands. It needs some high profile convictions of people perpetrating that sort of abuse. My wife has just told me that wild camping HAS ben banned on at least one of the islands & while you are free to go anywhere during the day, you MUST stop overnight on an offical campsite.

Mind you, I doubt even that would stop that sort of behaviour, as such people would probably just dump when it fills & never check when it is getting near full. We carry a spare cassette in the shower so it is easy to switch cassettes at a moment's notice but you then have a couple of days to empty the full cassette in a more suitable place.

I was quite amazed at the amount " Hire Vans " that we saw this last time in Scotland.

I would say it was nearly 50% of the vans we saw and the majority had "Damage " of one description or another with most of it being on the Near Side and in
particular at the rear.

The worst was one we saw arrive on the front in Arbroath had the whole bottom rear corner, lights and all missing.

 

[Val54]

CDP's Outer Hebrides

Just back from 4 weeks in the Highlands and Islands and we noticed a large number of hire vans, particularly around Mallaig and Fort William. The CDP'S in Lewis and Harris are limited the two, Leverburgh Pier and Breighe Beach car park behind the toilet block unless anyone has found another? Didn't notice any particular evidence of untoward cassette emptying and certainly the locals were very hospitable. The West Harris Trust encourages wild camping and there are at least 3 parking spots in stunning locations where you can park up. They ask for a £5 donation which can be made online via Paypal.

 

[Cliffy]

I can empty my cassette in a public toilet without making a mess.

What is wrong with that? When we get home from a trip, I empty it down my own toilet in the house. I see no difference.

I also carry a folding shovel but have only needed to bury waste once.

I suspect that it could damage the working of a sceptic tank if non-biodegradable/toxic toilet fluid is put down toilets on a regular basis. we empty ours at Home but we are on main drains.

Maybe we should start a POI toilet dump network for forum users I would be happy to allow Motorhomers to empty there toilets down my drains. All that would be needed would a list showing the post code and house number of users willing to take part in the network.

 

[cipro]

Chemy stuff

The green chemical is more echo friendly and I have been to a couple of MOTORHOME shoew namely a race course in the north and they only except green stuff in ther portable waste containers

 

[Smaug]

I suspect that it could damage the working of a sceptic tank if non-biodegradable/toxic toilet fluid is put down toilets on a regular basis. we empty ours at Home but we are on main drains.

Maybe we should start a POI toilet dump network for forum users I would be happy to allow Motorhomers to empty there toilets down my drains. All that would be needed would a list showing the post code and house number of users willing to take part in the network.

I empty my cassette into my septic tank perhaps 2-3 times in a year. I use a smalll amount of blue Elsan or similar in it. The tanks is big (1,000ltrs settlement tank plus another 1,000ltrs soakaway) and has not shown any ill effects.

Others on here have told of severe damage to public sewage systems caused by emptying chemical loos down public toilets.

 

[maingate]

I suspect that it could damage the working of a sceptic tank if non-biodegradable/toxic toilet fluid is put down toilets on a regular basis. we empty ours at Home but we are on main drains.

Maybe we should start a POI toilet dump network for forum users I would be happy to allow Motorhomers to empty there toilets down my drains. All that would be needed would a list showing the post code and house number of users willing to take part in the network.

You are correct Cliffy. That is why I find my SOG to be beneficial. All motorhomes should have them built in as standard.

I do tend to use a little Bio liquid to give it a bit of perfume though.

 

[james1508]

The green chemical is more echo friendly and I have been to a couple of MOTORHOME shoew namely a race course in the north and they only except green stuff in ther portable waste containers

We do the same , more expensive but should be no come back ! cost around £12 for 1.5 ltr if you shop around . http://goo.gl/maps/DsgVO the TIC also have a point for emptying too on Uist. Its noted on the Water POI.

James

 

[robbie1003]

I use bio tabs from aldi if im wild camping, gives you a option to dispose in a more sensative area if disposal point isn't available. See the point reguarding septic tanks, something that never crossed my mind.