aluminum cans in ocean?

K

katricol

Active Member
Mar 4, 2008
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LONG ISLAND SOUND
Boat Info
2000 540DA
Engines
CAT 3196 660 HP
I was on a friends boat and he threw all empty cans (beer,soda) over the side saying "they disintigrate within a few weeks and don't hurt anything" I did'nt say anything at the time but this has bothered me ever since. On my boat NOTHING other than food goes over the side, I bring all garbage to home port. Can anyone give me info on this as he is a resonable guy and if I can tell him he is wrong I'm sure he will "cease and desist".
 
aluminum cans will last a LONG time in the ocean and throwing them overboard is absurd. On average, takes over 200 years for an aluminum can to decompose in the environment. They should be brought back to the dock to be recycled. Tell your friend that the proctologist called and that they found his head...

If i saw him throwing them overboard, id make sure he got a visit from the marine police.
 
What size boat does your friend have. I thought you had to have a sticker about throwing garbage overboard on most?
 
any technical replies? anybody know the metalergy? This guy will only respect,concede to a scientific type response. Frank W? some engineer?
 
Here is some info found using "the google"

3. “Pocket Guide to Marine Debris,” The Ocean Conservancy, 2004*
Paper towel - 2-4 weeks; Orange or banana peel- 2-5 weeks; Newspaper- 6 weeks; Apple core- 2 months ; Waxed milk carton- 3 months; Plywood- 1-3 years; Wool sock- 1-5 years; Cigarette filter- 1-50 years; Plastic Bag- 10-20 years; Plastic film canister- 20-30 years ; Nylon Fabric- 30-40 years; Leather- 50 years; Tin can- 50 years; Foamed plastic cup- 50 years; Rubber boat sole- 50-80 years; Foamed plastic buoy- 80 years; Aluminium can- 80-200 year ; Disposable diapers- 450 years; Plastic beverage bottles- 450 year; Plastic beverage bottles- 450 year; Monofilament fishing line- 600 years; Glass Bottle- 1,000,000 years.
* Quoted in U.S National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab, FL and “Garbage In, Garbage Out,” Audobon Magazine, Spt/Oct 1998.

http://www.thatdanny.com/2008/06/06...a-plastic-bag-or-a-glass-bottle-to-decompose/
 
katricol said:
I was on a friends boat and he threw all empty cans (beer,soda) over the side saying "they disintigrate within a few weeks and don't hurt anything" I did'nt say anything at the time but this has bothered me ever since. On my boat NOTHING other than food goes over the side, I bring all garbage to home port. Can anyone give me info on this as he is a resonable guy and if I can tell him he is wrong I'm sure he will "cease and desist".
Click to expand...


If you want to prove his point wrong - take a beer can put it into a crab trap for 1 month - then make him eat what remains....:thumbsup:
 
You know what? In the grand scheme, he's probably right - It really is a molecule on a gnat on a fly on an elephant's ass when you think about it.

In the human mindset, 200 years is a long time. Heck, so is 50, or 20. 20 minutes is a long time for me if I'm running on a treadmill.

But to an astronomical body that is 4.3 BILLION years old, 200 years is hardly a mouse fart. Also, considering that it has 70% of its surface covered in a corrosive substance, throwing one, ten, or a million aluminum cans (which came from the earth, and there is plenty of aluminum in the seabed and even the seawater) is probably not going to make a difference.

All of that said, I could never see myself intentionally throwing garbage overboard for the same reason that I would bend over and pick up a piece of trash and throw it away if I were in a public place, like a shopping mall. I just am not of that mindset that let's garbage go where it may.

Moral of the story is, if it bugs you that much, sit and think about the volume of that aluminum can and compare it with the boat you were on, and then compare it with the vastness of the ocean. If that still doesn't set it right for you, maybe don't go boating with that dude anymore.

My $0.02.

-T
 
I never toss anything in any water anywhere...How long and how much trouble is it to put it away and throw it out when you get back?

BTW...there was a guy who RINSED out his cereal bowl in Lake George a few years back...Rinsed it...
Ticket and a 100.00 fine, he was anchored next to a patrol guy who was off duty.
 
Well that's just f'n ridiculous. That makes me want to go dump a box of cornflakes off my dock right now. A$$holes.
 
The U.S. Coast Guard regulations prohibit dumping of plastic refuse, and garbage mixed with plastic, into any waters. These restrictions apply to all U.S. watercraft where ever they operate (except waters under the exclusive jurisdiction of a State), and any foreign boats operating in U.S. waters out to and including the Exclusive Economic Zone (200 miles).
It is illegal to dump:
Inside 3 miles and in U.S. Lakes, Rivers, Bays and Sounds
and anywhere on the Great Lakes no matter how far from shore:
Plastic, dunnage, lining, and packing materials that float
and any garbage except dishwater/graywater/fresh fish parts.
3 to 12 miles
Plastic, dunnage, lining, and packing materials that float
and any garbage not ground to less than one square inch.
12 to 25 miles
Plastic, dunnage, lining, and packing materials that float.
Outside 25 miles
Plastic​

What is dunnage, etc.?
Your Obligations
Do not dispose of plastic in any waters. Learn and conform to the regulations regarding disposal of other garbage. For instance, it is illegal within three nautical miles to operate a garbage disposal in a galley sink if it discharges that garbage - even ground up garbage. To make it easier to comply, you might want to separate garbage according to the disposal limitations.
State and local regulations may further restrict the disposal of garbage. Make sure you know the regulations covering the waters upon which you will be boating.
 
PMC said:
Here is some info found using "the google"

3. “Pocket Guide to Marine Debris,” The Ocean Conservancy, 2004*
Paper towel - 2-4 weeks; Orange or banana peel- 2-5 weeks; Newspaper- 6 weeks; Apple core- 2 months ; Waxed milk carton- 3 months; Plywood- 1-3 years; Wool sock- 1-5 years; Cigarette filter- 1-50 years; Plastic Bag- 10-20 years; Plastic film canister- 20-30 years ; Nylon Fabric- 30-40 years; Leather- 50 years; Tin can- 50 years; Foamed plastic cup- 50 years; Rubber boat sole- 50-80 years; Foamed plastic buoy- 80 years; Aluminium can- 80-200 year ; Disposable diapers- 450 years; Plastic beverage bottles- 450 year; Plastic beverage bottles- 450 year; Monofilament fishing line- 600 years; Glass Bottle- 1,000,000 years.
* Quoted in U.S National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab, FL and “Garbage In, Garbage Out,” Audobon Magazine, Spt/Oct 1998.

http://www.thatdanny.com/2008/06/06...a-plastic-bag-or-a-glass-bottle-to-decompose/
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of throwing stuff overboard, but 80 to 200 years seems way over estimated. Tell that to all the guys here with Bravo3 drives (ok, maybe that's helped by electrolysis) With all the talk of protecting your equipment because of how caustic salt water is ... I don't believe that an aluminum can will last 80 to 200 years in salt water. That sounds like environmentalist bull$ to me.
 
Some how I got drawn into this...........and I'm not going to dignify this idiot's approach to the enviornment with a technical anwer.

My suggestion to you is to tell him the next time he soils the sea with a beer or Pepsi can you will break him arm. I find that technocrats who demand exacting scientific answers to elemental questions also understand that approach.
 
It makes a big differance looking at all the trash floating/laying around everywhere. Took some friends to the waterfront in Charleston a few weeks ago and there was cans, bottles washing up and it looked discusting. It is not to hard to dispose of it so everyone will not have to look at it for 50 years until it disolves. Tell your friend to find a trash can!
 
Again, it all goes back to what your perspective. From what I know about people, they are usually self-centered - not in an egotistical way, but they measure events that occur around them through their own perceptions.

People also like to think that they matter, when in reality on a earthly timeline of 4.3 billion years, neither they nor their effects will amount to a hill of beans.

Remember, this is a can, which is made from a material harvested from the surface of the earth, that is being returned to that very surface in a corrosive substance that will surely break it down over time.

Do I support the behavior? Not personally, no, but I'm not going to suggest that it's going to devastate nature or does it deserve a physical reprimand for the action.

Using the same yardstick of judgment that some are swinging around, I propose that any time you run your boat in the water, you are doing more harm than the aluminum can. Why? Because you're taking a substance that is natural to the earth, petroleum, and you are emitting it in an environment from which it did not come - sea or lake water.

I'll even ask a simpler question - if intentionally sinking 1000 ton old navy ships (with God-knows what kind of residues seeped into their aging alloy hulls) in 145 feet of water is seen as a good thing for reef-forming purposes, what harm can be done by tossing in 1/2 oz of mostly pure aluminum? Look at it as reef-forming on a smaller scale.

My point here guys is that a lot of folks take the holier-than-thou approach to this religion of environmentalism but none of you, or I, am without 'sin' (witness his holiness aboard AirForce One on Earth Day burning 30,000 gallons of JP5) and therefore none of us are suitable to judge the other.

So again - don't throw stuff where it doesn't belong, whether you're in the ocean, a parking lot, or your own garage. You look stupid doing it and people will probably think less of you. But for you witnesses of such acts, don't delude yourself into thinking that they are singlehandedly creating an environmental apocalypse. Nature is WAY too strong to let some insignificant species such as we to distrupt its lifecycle.

BTW, I want every single one of the hi-minded envirnmental type to swear, on the seaworthiness of their vessel, that they have NEVER, EVER jettisoned anything overboard while underway, accidental or not. If you won't do that, it makes you human, and a normal boater, as it's happened to every single one of us.
 
timinfla2 said:
You know what? In the grand scheme, he's probably right - It really is a molecule on a gnat on a fly on an elephant's ass when you think about it.

In the human mindset, 200 years is a long time. Heck, so is 50, or 20. 20 minutes is a long time for me if I'm running on a treadmill.

But to an astronomical body that is 4.3 BILLION years old, 200 years is hardly a mouse fart. Also, considering that it has 70% of its surface covered in a corrosive substance, throwing one, ten, or a million aluminum cans (which came from the earth, and there is plenty of aluminum in the seabed and even the seawater) is probably not going to make a difference.

My $0.02.

-T
Click to expand...

One aluminum can on a reef is going to cause one hell of a lot of death. I can't agree with the time/volume argument in any way. We have wildlife in our area that are permanantly
maimed from such practices. Pelicans limping around with fishing line wrapped around their appendages, turtles dying from plastic bags. It's enraging that anyone can rationalize any form of trashing our natural environment to save them very little trouble at the dock.

Every morning that my wife and I spend at the island, we take 2 trash bags and go for a walk. We come back when they're full. During the Winter, we walk for miles. During the Summer, they fill up faster. It's not that I feel like I have to clean our beaches, it's that I can not walk by a piece of trash and leave it there for someone/something else to have to look at or get injured by.

Your buddy is wrong and he is rationalizing his laziness. Please set him straight, but not in a confrontational way. The last thing we need is for him to add plastic bottles to his list out of anger.
 
andy k said:
here is a little food for thought
http://honeartlab.com/blog/?p=8
Click to expand...

Here is another article on the same topic:

http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/health/Our_oceans_are_turning_into_plastic_are_we_2.php

timinfla2 said:
Nature is WAY too strong to let some insignificant species such as we to distrupt its lifecycle.
Click to expand...

Tim is absolutely right. The Earth will always survive what is thrown at it, however long it takes - humans are the one's who can't.
 
Who cares how long it takes?

It's called having some F'in Respect for the water and others around you. Not to mention a imposing danger to wildlife, boats, and people.

Ugh I would have backhanded this fool.
 
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