Garbage at sea....

This was when I was in the navy, procedure has changed by now, trust me.

All the ships departments would bring their garbage to the quarterdeck at dusk, hold the bags over the side and rip them open and then just drop everything (This was in the early eighties). Then we got green. We installed a couple of trash compactors. Then each department would for a week at a time, supply crew members to sort the garbage, paper/cardboard in one pile, organics in another. Wood would get tossed and glass would be smashed on the ships side and dumped overboard.

Well, the remaniing sorted trash would then be compacted...........then thrown over the side.

I am the king of weak stomachs, so most of my duty time there was spent with my head hanging over the side puking while the remains of feminine hygiene products lay at my feet and yes on one miserable occasion, draped across my forearm. (I lost it there and it almost cost me my career).

Now it is all sorted, compacted and stored. Nothing goes over the side, nothing. The ass end of the ship stinks.....Allan