With great adventures comes great responsibility, especially when it comes to minimising our impact on the Aussie landscape we cherish. As caravan and RV enthusiasts, we have the opportunity to travel responsibly, leaving behind only footprints and fond memories. But let's be honest, some parts of travelling can be a little ‘crappy’, especially when it comes to things like caravan grey water. But fear not! This comprehensive guide to caravan waste management will allow your caravan adventure to have minimal impact and maximum enjoyment.
How to Prepare For Rubbish Management
Reduce Rubbish Before You Set Off
When preparing for a journey, make mindful choices while shopping, opting for food, drink or other items with minimal or eco-friendly packaging. Of course, this is not always possible, however farmers' markets are an excellent place to find such options.
Unpacking groceries into organisational containers, preferably near the supermarket, allows you to dispose of packaging immediately. This practice helps avoid accumulating extra rubbish as you travel, enabling you to focus on the enjoyable and relaxing aspects of your holiday rather than mundane kitchen chores.
Organisation Is Key
Maintaining organisation is crucial when aiming to minimise waste. This can be done with adequate drawers and storage and handy kitchen storage containers, tubs or compartments. Aussie Traveller, have bundled up their best storage pieces into one Ultimate Canvas Storage Pack which is a great place to start organising your van.
A well-organised setup ensures that your food and products are easily visible and accessible. When everything has its place, finding what you need is a breeze, and you can kiss goodbye to buying double ups or forgetting about that rotten apple in the back of the cupboard! Plus, sealing the deal with airtight containers keeps things fresh and makes them last longer on extended trips.
How To Store Rubbish When Travelling
When traveling to remote areas where bins are scarce, efficient rubbish storage becomes essential. Consider using a canvas or vinyl storage bag, or even a spare wheel rubbish bag, that conveniently attaches to your spare tire for easy, out of the way waste storage.
While a small rubbish bag is handy for shorter journeys, for extended periods, having a dedicated hard storage box at the back of the van can be a game-changer. This box not only serves as a practical storage solution for extra bin bags but also helps in containing odors within the caravan. By keeping your rubbish storage on the car, you ensure that you never forget it and are always prepared when you come across bins or rubbish facilities during your travels.
Caravan Grey Water Management
What Is A Grey Water Tank Caravan?
Grey water encompasses all wastewater generated in a caravan, excluding toilet waste. This includes water from sinks, showers, washing machines, and dishwashers. This wastewater can be collected in a dedicated grey water tank caravan tank. For when you do need to store your grey water, a plain ol' bucket won’t cut it. You’ll need a sealed tank. If your setup doesn't have one built-in, you can snag a portable, sealed caravan grey water container that will do the trick.
No matter what you do in your caravan, you will produce caravan grey water. Whether it is having the luxury of an onboard washing machine or simply washing up last nights dishes. It is important to check the rules and regulations of the areas you are visiting as to whether you need to store your grey water in a caravan grey water tank and not dump it. Using eco friendly cleaning products is best practice incase you are allowed to drain your grey water directly to the garden or grass. No matter what, opting for a grey water tank caravan system provides flexibility for camping in various locations, making it a practical choice, especially for long-term travel.
Direct Grey Water Dumping
With some places allowing you to drain your grey water into your caravan sites allocated drains or in the garden, a sullage hose is a must. Simply connect to the outlet of your grey water tank caravan and run the hose where it needs to go. We recommend a round and flat sullage hoses like the Australian Made Flat Sullage Hose which is easy to wind up, pushing all that stinky caravan grey water out as you go.
Toilet Systems Management
When it comes to toilet systems for caravans and RVs, there are two main players, each with its own set of pros and cons.
Cassette Toilet System
First up is the cassette style toilet. It's equipped with a small, removable holding tank that needs to be emptied into designated dump points, typically found in towns across the country. The cool thing about a cassette toilet is its compact size. They're a breeze to clean and don't get too smelly since you're emptying them more often. And the best part? You can just grab the portable tank and take it to the dump station, no need to drag the whole motorhome along.
This system deals with raw sewage using chemicals. One drawback is that the cassette toilet uses water from your fresh water supply to flush the toilet.
Customer Favourite Cassette Toilets:
This Thetford Cassette Toilet can hold up to 17.5 litres of waste and is a lightweight and durable caravan toilet. Thetford claim to have the highest level of seating comfort on the market (it’s all about the small luxuries).
The Dometic Cassette Toilet has an innovative high grade scratch resistant ceramic inlay. The CTS 4110 is a crowd favourite due the cassette system holding up to 19 litres of waste disposal.
If you find that your cassette is filling up faster than you can reach a dump station, consider getting an extra one or two spare cassettes. This way, you can store the full cassettes in an airtight compartment until you find the nearest dump station, sparing you the hassle of frequent emptying.
Compost Toilet System
Now, let's talk about the Compost style toilet, the off-grid champ. Perfect for longer stints away from civilization, this toilet requires less frequent emptying, with solids holding up to around 3 months depending on climate and usage. The liquids part needs more regular attention, like every two days or so, but you can dump it in a designated station or sensibly in more remote spots.
Here's the bonus: no water from your supply is used, leaving more for drinking, showering, and all the other necessities. Since there are no chemicals involved, you're off the hook for needing a dump point. If you have access to caravan park facilities, giving your toilet a break from deposits can actually help with the composting process. Just a heads up, though – finding compost bricks can be a bit of a treasure hunt.
Portable Camping Toilet
Portable toilets are built for ultimate mobility, perfect for small caravans, camper trailers, 4WDs, and even tent camping. They consist of a lightweight plastic bowl with a small water tank on top and a compact waste tank below. Once the waste tank is full, simply detach it from the seat, empty it into a dump point, and you're good to go.
These toilets require only two additives: one in the flush tank for lubrication and another in the waste tank to break down waste and prevent odors. Consider a portable toilet if you're on a budget, want to keep your toilet away from your caravan, don't want a permanent installation, or won't have easy access to water. Keep in mind, a portable toilet might not be the best choice if you need a larger tank capacity, as they typically have smaller holding tanks, requiring more frequent emptying.
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SOG Toilet System
If you want to avoid any chemicals (in true eco-friendly fashion) a SOG Toilet Ventilation System could be for you. The SOG invention stops toilet smells without using special chemicals. A powerful fan automatically starts when you open the toilet valve, creating suction in the waste tank. This pulls in fresh air, carrying away any smells and preventing bad odors from escaping the tank. No wonder it’s a crowd favourite! The system turns off when you close the toilet valve, but it keeps providing constant fresh air through a pipe to the outside. This also, helps in breaking down waste.
This system is available for all popular 12V Thetford and Dometic cassette toilets.
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Browse our full caravan plumbing, tanks, bathroom and toilets range, or our selection or organisational storage today.
Choosing the right caravan grey water tank and waste management systems for you can be difficult. That's why we're here! Feel free to contact one of our friendly team members on 1800 787 278 or on our live chat www.caravanrvcamping.com.au.
DISCLAIMER* Please note, this advice is general in nature and we strongly recommend consulting the product manual and where relevant, a professional installer.
