Home

Clean Marinas - Clean Boaties Fact Sheet

As a companion to the Clean Marinas Australia Program, MIAA encourages the nation's boaties to learn about and to use clean boating techniques. Clean boaties are encouraged to use certified Clean Marinas.

 

Clean Boaties Fact Sheet

  • Maintain your marine toilet
  • Keep the disinfectant tank full
  • Use biodegradable treatment chemicals
  • Follow the manufacturer's suggested maintenance program
  • Never discharge the holding tank immediately after adding deodorants since some deodorants contain toxic formaldehyde that can kill fish
  • Have your marine toilet inspected regularly to ensure that it is functioning properly
  • Do not dispose of fats, solvents, oils, emulsifiers, disinfectants, paints, poisons, phosphates, nappies, or other similar products in your marine toilet
  • Greywater includes soaps and detergents from boat showers, dishwashing, and laundry facilities.
  • Soaps, even those labelled as "biodegradable," contain substances that might be harmful to marine life.
  • Use shore-side showers, dishwashing stations, and laundry facilities whenever they are available.
  • Check product labels and use low nitrogen and phosphorous detergents for on-board laundry, dish washing and general cleaning
  • Use all soaps and cleaners sparingly

Boat Maintenances

  • Do you work on your boat rather than hire others to do the work for you?
  • Do you clean the deck, repaint the hull, and change the oil?
  • If so, here are some important tips to help you protect the waters wherever you boat:

Boat Cleaning

  • Soaps and solvents are toxic to marine life
  • Take care when using harmful products near the water

Hull Maintenance

  • Boat paints and other hull coatings contain harmful components including metals, solvents, and dyes

Engine Maintenance

  • Routine engine servicing requires the handling of toxic substances such as oil and solvents
  • Care must be taken while the cleaning is done
  • Check with marina staff to find out where engine maintenance is allowed at the marina
  • Clean up work area with absorbent materials and a broom, instead of hosing
  • Ask if your facility has a collection area for boat maintenance waste such as used oil filters, waste oil, lead-acid batteries, etc.). If not, take it home and dispose of as household waste
  • Pre-clean engine parts with a wire brush to eliminate the need for solvents
  • Keep your engine well tuned to have it perform efficiently, to prevent leaks, and keep it clean to spot oil and fuel leaks more easily
  • If you must use solvents, use VOC-free solvents
  • Use the orange-pink coloured propylene radiator fluids/coolants, which is non-toxic, rather than the blue-green coloured ethylene glycol, which is toxic to marine life

Fuel

  • Keep fuel tanks at 90% capacity to prevent deterioration of the stored fuel
  • You should never fill the tank all the way because petrol and petrol products expand as they warm, causing a potentially explosive condition
  • Never pour oil or oily liquids into the water

Non-Toxic Cleaning Alternatives

The following list provides non-toxic alternatives to typical cleaning products. Please note that even non-toxic substances can cause harm to the environment so use sparingly.

When cleaning, always try water and a little elbow grease first.

  • All purpose cleaner: mix one cup white vinegar with five litres of water
  • Air freshener: an open box of baking soda
  • Ammonia-based cleaners: vinegar, salt, and water
  • Brass cleaner: Worcestershire sauce or paste made with equal amounts of salt, vinegar, and water
  • Copper cleaner: lemon juice and water or paste of lemon juice, salt, and flour
  • Chlorine bleach: baking soda and water or borax
  • Chrome cleaner/polish: apple cider vinegar to clean; baby oil to polish
  • Disinfectants: one half a cup borax in three litres of water
  • Drain opener: dissemble and use a plumber's snake or flush with boiling water mixed with one-quarter cup baking soda and one quarter cup vinegar
  • Fibreglass stain: remover baking soda paste
  • Floor cleaner: one-cup vinegar plus five litres of water
  • Paints: use latex or water-based paints
  • Paint remover/stripper: use heat gun to peel off paint
  • Paint thinners: use water (effective for water-based paints)
  • Stainless steel cleaner: baking soda or mineral oil for polishing, vinegar to remove spots
  • Toilet bowl cleaner: use toilet brush and baking soda
  • Wood polish: olive or almond oil (interior walls only)
  • Window cleaner: mix two tablespoons vinegar in one quart of water or rub glass with newspaper

Boat Operation and Fueling

The way that you operate your boat or personal watercraft can have a direct effect on public safety and the environment.

When not operated properly, boats can inflict injuries on people, animals and on other property and cause pollution.

Specific considerations should be given when fuelling your boat.

Consider the following tips to make sure your boating activities are safe and protect the environment.

Boat Operation

  • Observe all rules and regulations including "no wake" zones
  • Avoid operating through shallow areas. You risk damage to your boat and sensitive habitats, such as seagrass
  • If not familiar with the waters near the shore, proceed cautiously and refer to the most current local charts
  • Watch your wake when boating near marshes and eroded banks. Your wake could cause erosion
  • When your outboard motor needs replacing, consider an efficient 4- stroke or direct fuel injection 2-stroke. Higher efficiency engines save money on fuel and reduce the level of unused fuel released into the environment

Fuelling

  • Attend to fuel hose and filler point when fuelling
  • Always use an oil absorbent cloth or pad when fuelling to catch drips, particularly when you remove the fuel nozzle from the boat's fuel tank
  • Prevent spills by not over filling/topping off the tank, and listening to filler pipe to anticipate when the tank is full
  • To prevent spills from the tank vent of a built-in fuel tank, install a fuel/air separator or an air whistle in your tank line, or use a vent cup to capture overspill. Ask marina staff if they know who can provide this service
  • Avoid overfilling tanks; fuel expands as it warms up in the tank after being moved from cooler storage tanks
  • Fill portable tanks on shore
  • Add a stabiliser to your fuel if you use your boat infrequently. This helps preserve fuel and ensures it burns efficiently
  • If you see a leak or spill of any fuel, stop the spill at the source and contact the marina staff immediately
  • You must report spills to the local authorities
  • Understand that squirting any detergent or emulsifier on an oil slick is not good for the environment, against the law, and can bring heavy fines

Garbage and Fishing Waste

Everyone generates garbage.

When not handled properly, garbage, fish waste, fishing line, hazardous waste, and pet waste can injure marine life and people, and can ruin your boating experience.

Consider the following tips.

Garbage

  • Don't toss garbage, including cigarette butts overboard
  • Never discard plastics into the water
  • Always store your garbage on-board and dispose of it when you return to land. Store it securely so it does not fly away while boating
  • Use the appropriately marked garbage receptacles. If a garbage can is full, find another that has room for your garbage
  • Separate recyclable materials, like cans and bottles, from regular garbage for recycling at the marina or at a local recycling centre
  • If you are not sure how to dispose of a certain waste, ask your marina manager
  • Never leave used oil or fuel filters unattended near a bin after hours
  • Store used filters in a safe and secure place (i.e. on-board) and contact the marina office
  • Be a good neighbour and pick up garbage that you come across, either floating in the water or on land
  • Always pickup after your pet and dispose of pet waste in the marina's designated garbage receptacles

Fish Waste

  • Fish waste should be discarded offshore unless there are length limits for the type of fish caught
  • If fish are cleaned at the marina, do it at a designated location. Waste must be disposed of as directed
  • Take particular care to properly dispose of fishing lines. Fishing lines in the water can entangle fish, wildlife, swimmers, and boat propellers