I thought I would add that I've been a user of a legal treatment system for years. I had an old electrosan on a boat and then and old TDX based system. I never like the TDX based system. Frankly I never felt that a chemical formaldehyde based system was a good environmental idea, even if it was legal. Second, because it treated its entire tank at once, it produced a cloud which legal or not, was not the kind of attention I wanted. So, I decided to replace it. While I'm not an environmental whacko, I don't personally like the idea of discharging untreated waste. I like even less the "head in the sand" mentality of using a holding tank. Lets face it, holding tanks are nor very practical and if you are one who uses them properly, your a pretty rare individual. I'm not naive about the realities of getting knowlegeable legislation passed, but it does infuriate me to find that we allow ourselves to get penalized for doing something above par. I see it as our own sports shortcomings, of not taking the initiative to better regulate ourselves, leaving it to others to do it for us. While I'm not for regulation at all, at some point I think you have to be realistic that "something" is going to happen and we are better to beat the enviro whacko's to the punch lest we get a Paul Watson. I can tell you if i ever moor next to him, I'm going to disable the treatment system and use the head frequently.
so, I just purchased a hold n treat system. Given its voluntarily costing me a premium of about $1,500 bucks to have a treatment system over a holding tank, I'll cop a bit of an attitude about it. What I like about the hold n treat is that I can hold waste at a dock, even where its completely legal, and then dump on the way out where water is not stagnant. It's even more convenient than a pumpout (maybe not $1,500 more convenient) and ultimately its better for the environment in every concievable way. I also don't have to play the silly game of Coast Guard Roulette with the stupid discharge thru hull and a zip tie. Looking at the ting in the box, I'm convinced there is not a ton of margin in this product given the relatively small number of units they move. It's too bad, if as a community we took a litle more practical initiative, we would not wind up with the silly NDZ's which only serve like MTBE to amplify the environmental impacts, not solve them.
so, I just purchased a hold n treat system. Given its voluntarily costing me a premium of about $1,500 bucks to have a treatment system over a holding tank, I'll cop a bit of an attitude about it. What I like about the hold n treat is that I can hold waste at a dock, even where its completely legal, and then dump on the way out where water is not stagnant. It's even more convenient than a pumpout (maybe not $1,500 more convenient) and ultimately its better for the environment in every concievable way. I also don't have to play the silly game of Coast Guard Roulette with the stupid discharge thru hull and a zip tie. Looking at the ting in the box, I'm convinced there is not a ton of margin in this product given the relatively small number of units they move. It's too bad, if as a community we took a litle more practical initiative, we would not wind up with the silly NDZ's which only serve like MTBE to amplify the environmental impacts, not solve them.
