We are taking about QLD here, the state that has a dob in a vaper phone line, and a $2500 fine for leaving a garbage bin on the street for 24 hours.

The last page of the brochure "Options for sewage legislation compliance Ships other than declared ships September 2016" linked here:

www.msq.qld.gov.au/Marine-pollution/Sewage.aspx

gives a flowchart diagram. The relevant part is:

Does your vessel have a fixed toilet?

No ->
Options include:
- onshore facilities (public toilets)
- portable toilet (e.g. porta potty) to be discharged on shor or in waters where permitted.

Yes -> Is your vessel fitted with a macerator?
No -> Penalty for non-compliance
Yes -> Is sewage availabel to bypass the macerator?
No -> Penalty for non-compliance

So the only option for compliance with a composting head is for the composting head to be treated as a portable toilet, or at least, not a fixed toilet. Or to temporarilly remove the composting toilet and replace it with a portable toilet just for QLD.

I wonder if I screwed the composting head base to a piece of plywood, which is then attached with some sort of latch arrangement that is easilly removeable, if I would still be fined if I visited the sunshine state. I guess I would have to at least remove the hose clamp from the air vent hose on the composting head, or probably to be safer to remove the hose from the composting head. I would need the fan running somewhere on the hose run to the deck vent. It seems it would depend on the attitude of the boating officer. As I may not win a court fight over the issue if I challenged a huge fine, given the vague way that the legislation is worded.

Agent nods said..
the site says ok if you have

The use of an on-board sewage treatment system.

plus it actually gives a link to:

A Better Way To Go-Enviro composting toilets

I wish they were that reasonable in QLD, but unfortunately on the flowchart of the last page of this brochure:

www.msq.qld.gov.au/-/media/MSQInternet/MSQFiles/Home/Environment/Sewage/Pdf_sewleg_compliance_other_than_declared.pdf?la=en

I don't get to the part about a sewage treatment system before I get fined for non-compliance unless the boating officer agrees that the composting head is not a fixed toilet.

Obviously I can not install a macerator when I have no through hulls for the composting head and there is no water used for flushing which would be required for a macerator pump to work.

I think being fined would be very unreasonable if I am on a boat where there are no holes below the waterline for a head. The head is capable of holding solids for a month if there were 2 aboard.

southace said..
Now we are on the topic of composting I often wonder where do you wee wee?

there is a pan at the front that captures the pee, and it's transferred to bottle/tank to be disposed of separately. (it is not classed as sewerage)

UncleBob said..

Agent nods said..

southace said..
Now we are on the topic of composting I often wonder where do you wee wee?

there is a pan at the front that captures the pee, and it's transferred to bottle/tank to be disposed of separately. (it is not classed as sewerage)

You might want to check that !
Blackwater is wastewater generated from a toilet, bidette or bidet which is heavily and directly contaminated with human faeces and/or urine

Although here in Tasmania urine discharge is specifically allowed.

Bristol (not taking the p1ss)

Yes you are close with 4 litres per flush .I am currently in qld and to hopefully comply I just used a 30 litre plastic drum that in a former life contained thinners , fitted an inspection port, put an inlet in the lid an outlet in the side ,mounted it horizontally in the sail locker and plumbed it into a tmc macerating toilet. I also fitted a charcoal filter that vents into my anchor well .cost was about $350 in total. No smell and with carefull use ( number 2 only ) I can stretch to a week before having to go for a sail . I sail solo. There is no facility to use a pump out station as I didn't see the need to put the fittings in as once I get back to nsw where would I go to pump it out.

woko said..
The issues I have with the TMC unit are around the exit from the pump,
1/ the hose tail is only 1" tho a adapter is supplied to 1 1/2"
2/ the check valve on the exit from the pump leaks and so what's in the hose makes its way back to the bowl
3/ the hose tails on the pump are only long enough for one clamp
Another case of get what you pay for,but better than the manual job so far

neat set up. i think if you had the inlet on the top side of the tank rather on the side. I think you loose volume this way plus you always will have back-flow into the toilet. Do you not have a vent hose connected? And, unless I am not seeing it, why not add a gravity discharge option with a y-valve?

I was thinking about setting it up a similar way but I think I would want a bigger tank and not sure if the toilet would be able to push through the waste water that high.

woko said..
Initially the waste was plumbed into the top of the tank, but I moved it to the side to reduce the hose length and the resulting bypass of the check valve was likewise reduced. I could of added another check valve but I was trying to keep it as simple as possible.
the charcoal vent is on the blue hose passing through the bulkhead.
its a bit hard to see on the pic but there's a sea cock behind the seat, so when it's closed its a holding tank and when open whatever is pumped into the tank simply flows straight out to sea. Saves on a Y valve extra hose, clamps and clutter.
The tank is 86L, I made it to take advantage the maximum space. And has a clear inspection port if I find it nessasry to have a look in there
I can easily add a pump out line if I ever find a pump out station !

I thought the blue hose was the pump out hose leading to the deck coupling. That is a massive breather hose though.

madmission said..
This is a bit off topic but
After using both a lavac and a TMC macerating heads i am with crusoe the vacuum work well and with the maintenance issues ramona outlined for me its a no brainer so was pleasantly surprised to come across a description of an economic conversion in Jude Binders Book on practical tips.
"Our head is a homebuilt Lavac operated by a Henderson Mk IV bilge pump."
see www.jackandjude.com for complete description.

Back to the **** fight

Have used a Lavac manual toilet, with 2 adults and 2 kids and they are amasing. Maintenance with full time use on seawater was a yearly pump clean and thats about it.
I found that the hoses end up smelling. The smell seems to come through the wall of the hose which i discovered after very thorough cleaning didnt shift the smell but with new hoses there was no smell at all.
This was hose sold for toilets btw.
On holding tanks (hope to never have one again) go for the biggest diameter vent hose you can fit, and a smell filter.

So let me get this straight.
every creature that ever lived in the history of the ocean took a dump in the ocean for millions of years without any drama,but if I do it I need to add chemicals to make it ok?

Bottles of vinegar will be your best friend!

You know you're a boatie when you find a discussion about holding tanks and macerators interesting.

Holding tanks on vessels under 35 ft is very problematic.

If outside of protected waters direct discharge via a macerator (such as an electric head) is permissible.

If inside protected waters a method of holding toilet waste is required.

Two alternatives to holding tanks are Porta Potties and Thunder Buckets (20 litre plastic bucket with clip lid and clip on toilet seat).

These may be emptied via the macerator toilet in open waters.

With this option why complicate your life with holding tanks?????

cisco said..
Holding tanks on vessels under 35 ft is very problematic.

If outside of protected waters direct discharge via a macerator (such as an electric head) is permissible.

If inside protected waters a method of holding toilet waste is required.

Two alternatives to holding tanks are Porta Potties and Thunder Buckets (20 litre plastic bucket with clip lid and clip on toilet seat).

These may be emptied via the macerator toilet in open waters.

With this option why complicate your life with holding tanks?????

The porta pot is an excellent option for an extended layover, if there's a RV dump point handy. My preferred option in my home port. The reason I went the holding tank is that port hopping along the coast. 1/finding a dump point isn't always an option and gurgling say 15L of ..it down a local dunny is well, to be frank is ugly. 2/ a short layover and back to sea, now the fun begins, because gurgling it down a public toilet starts to appear not so bad when your confronted with the canister full of ..it, up the companion way, over the side, tie it on, let it drag not ski so it rinses, then recover the said reciprocal.
That is where the holding tank wins emptying at sea is a matter of opening a seacock. The fact that a small tank exceeds the capacity of a porta pot can also be a bonus, but beware the last statement is a double edge sword

cisco said..

southace said..
Yep nothing like sharing a bucket of poo with ya mates. ??

If it is up on deck keeping the stink out of the cabin it is fine.

Certainly a better idea than having a tank full of what you are full of hanging over your bunk.

Opening a half full bucket off poo is going to create more smell in your little cabin than my holding tank I installed 4 years ago that has no smell and is not hanging over my queen sized bed.

I really like my holding tank. As we have a cat with stern steps (with the toilet close by) we spend a lot of time swimming around the boat. We love mucking around the boat, swimming under the bridgedeck, and jumping off the bows and slowly swimming to the stern. And we like going to pristine spots and small creeks such as Zoe and the creek on Percy. Drying out without a holding tank is a real bummer but we put a clean bucket of seawater in the head compartment and can flush even when the water has gone away. (Percy lagoon again)

It allows us to go to places like Cid Harbour and Refuge Bay and put nutrients into the water later, instead of in an ecosystem filled with hundreds of humans. Dilution is the solution to pollution, so waiting till you are sailing fast and offshore is much better for nutrient levels than macerating and putting it into the water in a crowded anchorage - the marine life will like you better for waiting to later to dump.

For us, it is a no brainer to have a tank. It is a gravity outlet tank so after a week or so we can drop it when sailing to the next anchorage, well out from land. I would not like to not have one as it makes our lives cleaner and safer (you don't swim in someone's poo) and allows us to use the toilet whenever we want and dump later. So a big tick for a gravity emptying tank of about 5-7 days duration for me. Some smell sometimes but pretty uncommon.