Grey waste dump

[blakeley]

Where does everyone dump their grey waster when wild camping, I know we have a few individuals on here that refuse to use campsites and travel around for several weeks. I was just interested to know what you do with the grey water as it's frowned upon to dispose of it on the road

 

[ArunAlec]

This’ll be fun!

 

[GregW]

I put it on my vegetable patch when I get home. Never had a dinner guest complain yet.

 

[ArunAlec]

I confess!
I sometimes drain mine onto my drive where it flows onto my garden. Having said that most of the houses around here have cess pits which have been known to leak when full.

 

[GregW]

I confess!
I sometimes drain mine onto my drive where it flows onto my garden. Having said that most of the houses around here have cess pits which have been known to leak when full.

At the end of the day it's not raw sewage. It's soap and food scrapings.

 

[kurienp]

Where does everyone dump their grey waster when wild camping, I know we have a few individuals on here that refuse to use campsites and travel around for several weeks. I was just interested to know what you do with the grey water as it's frowned upon to dispose of it on the road

Grey waste from a Cali is only soap and water. We empty that into any waste water channel which connects to the sewer mains.

The water tank and the waste water tank capacity is matched for a reason. By the time you need fresh water, only then will you waste water tank be near full. We have always had access to drains where soapy water can be emptied correctly.

As it has soap, never have emptied it into my garden patch.

Never will we let it flow on to camping pitches or paved areas, where it may not have a method to drain into the ground.

 

[CaliforniaBen]

We just leave ours permanently open

 

[Adamvanman]

What is a fake taxi ?

 

[BerndRos]

Park over a road drain and away it goes

 

[Elly Swanson]

Unless you carefully pre-prepare you pots and dishes before washing up, your water may contain fat/oil that hasn’t been completely broken down by your soap/detergent. Nasty

 

[WelshGas]

I just do as I do at home. Why would you do anything different?

 

[Elly Swanson]

I just do as I do at home. Why would you do anything different?

When camping I think I’m even more careful than at home where the waste goes down the drain to the sewers for treatment. Have heard people complaining about smelly waste tanks and seen plenty of sludgy, oily messes on roads and dumped in hedgerows, particularly disgusting in hot weather and harmful to the direct environment/wildlife.

I know that this is one of the things locals complain about and councils take seriously when deciding to ban CVs and MHs from stopping over.

 

[Lightning]

When camping I think I’m even more careful than at home where the waste goes down the drain to the sewers for treatment. Have heard people complaining about smelly waste tanks and seen plenty of sludgy, oily messes on roads and dumped in hedgerows, particularly disgusting in hot weather and harmful to the direct environment/wildlife.

I know that this is one of the things locals complain about and councils take seriously when deciding to ban CVs and MHs from stopping over.

Utter tosh.

 

[GregW]

I doubt your typical Cali grey water discharge is a ‘sludgy oily mess’, mine certainly aren’t. As at home I’m very wary of clogging my plumbing up with solidified waste fat, so don’t dispose of cooking oil that way.
If drains can’t cope with a little soapy water they are not fit to be drains.

 

[Ting Tong]

Apart from the fake taxi comment, I was hoping for more entertainment from this thread: isn’t anyone going to admit to doing it whilst driving along?

 

[JAPRACER]

@Wiggly Woo My Van is a fake taxi and I open mine only when passing places of interest and of natural beauty

 

[Loz]

Apart from the fake taxi comment, I was hoping for more entertainment from this thread: isn’t anyone going to admit to doing it whilst driving along?

Didn’t someone modify there’s with a mechanical valve for this purpose?

 

[5i1ver8ack]

I (occasionally) wash my cali. Typically, that's on the driveway. I don't collect the soapy water for special disposal.

If there's a bit of soapy water in the grey water tank, that goes on the driveway too. I don't see the difference. But I'm not filling the grey water tank with large quantities of oil and other sludge. Who would?

And yes, the soapy water has been leaked onto the M4. I doubt it made any quantifiable difference to the state of the road, the quality of the immediate environment or the lifespan of the planet. I don't believe I've ever managed to fill the grey water tank, so the quantity involved is miniscule. You'll have me collecting screen wash next.

It's mildly (very mildly) soapy water, not nuclear waste.

 

[Ting Tong]

Didn’t someone modify there’s with a mechanical valve for this purpose?

I think you’re right but he only admitted he did it to empty the fresh water tank in his T4 when returning home.

 

[Calimili]

Drains are underground pipes that take water away from houses and buildings. Most homes have separate drains for rainwater and wastewater. The owner is responsible for checking their property has the right drain connections. If your property has the wrong drain connections, you could be causing water pollution.
Drain for rainwater
This drain collects rainwater from:

• roofs
• driveways
• roads

Rainwater is untreated. It's also described as 'storm water'. The surface water drain takes it directly to rivers and beaches.
Drain for wastewater
Wastewater comes from:

• toilets
• sinks
• baths and showers
• washing machines
• dishwashers

This drain takes the foul water to the local wastewater treatment works.

If wastewater from your home flows into the rainwater drain, this takes untreated water to the nearest river. This pollutes:

• river water
• the sea
• local beaches

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/connecting-your-home-right-drains

People thinking that dumping grey water over a gully or on the road is fine are WRONG. they will be polluting.
There is a reason why in camping sites there are grey water disposal areas rather than just road gullies.

 

[Loz]

Maybe this thread should be merged with the other now to stop duplication.

 

[WelshGas]

Drains are underground pipes that take water away from houses and buildings. Most homes have separate drains for rainwater and wastewater. The owner is responsible for checking their property has the right drain connections. If your property has the wrong drain connections, you could be causing water pollution.
Drain for rainwater
This drain collects rainwater from:

• roofs
• driveways
• roads

Rainwater is untreated. It's also described as 'storm water'. The surface water drain takes it directly to rivers and beaches.
Drain for wastewater
Wastewater comes from:

• toilets
• sinks
• baths and showers
• washing machines
• dishwashers

This drain takes the foul water to the local wastewater treatment works.

If wastewater from your home flows into the rainwater drain, this takes untreated water to the nearest river. This pollutes:

• river water
• the sea
• local beaches

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/connecting-your-home-right-drains

People thinking that dumping grey water over a gully or on the road is fine are WRONG. they will be polluting.
There is a reason why in camping sites there are grey water disposal areas rather than just road gullies.

Those are regulations since 1970. Prior to that most dwellings had a combined drainage system and Rainwater from drives, roof etc: ran into the Sewage drainage system with a S bend vapour trap.
This type of system does not have to be altered to conform with the current regulations unless new building work is undertaken.
So my house, built in the 50’s has the old combined system apart from the new extension where the rainwater drains into a garden soak away.
So the grey waste gets dumped on the drive over the drain. Simples.

 

[Calimili]

So my house, built in the 50’s has the old combined system apart from the new extension where the rainwater drains into a garden soak away.
So the grey waste gets dumped on the drive over the drain. Simples.View attachment 54045

Correct, in your specific case it's fine because you know exactly how your drainage system is made.
The gullies on the road it's another story.

 

[Nick Stubbs]

You will have to wash your car in a contained bund next...all that car shampoo, alloy wheel cleaner, brake dust all going down the drane...what about all the run off from the roads rubber, brake dust, engine oil, fuels just to name a few.

 

[Calimili]

You will have to wash your car in a contained bund next...all that car shampoo, alloy wheel cleaner, brake dust all going down the drane...what about all the run off from the roads rubber, brake dust, engine oil, fuels just to name a few.

Correct. In Germany for example it is forbidden to wash a car on the road or even in your own driveway, unless you have a drain for wastewater (which nobodies has).