The placard

The other placard, and the one absolute prohibition

On this page11

The second placard Posted where people are, not where the machinery is What it notifies Read the plastic clause again Which makes the empty container a regulated object That is not a reason to stop selling plastic Which is the argument for the concentrate And for the larger container with a working bottle Garbage handling spaces is a packaging phrase So say it on the label References

The empty container is regulated too. And plastic has no exception anywhere.

The second placard

The garbage placard, "at least 20 cm (8 in) wide by 12 1/2 cm (5 in) high, made of a durable material, and legible", displayed "in prominent locations and in sufficient numbers so that they can be read by the crew and passengers".

Posted where people are, not where the machinery is

The locations named include "embarkation points, food service facilities, garbage handling spaces, living spaces, and common areas on deck". The oil placard goes where the oil is; this one goes where people are.

What it notifies

The prohibition on discharging garbage into the navigable waters of the United States and other waters except as specifically allowed; the complete prohibition on discharging plastic into all waters; liability for civil and criminal penalties; and possible regional, state and local restrictions.

Read the plastic clause again

Complete prohibition, all waters. Not restricted, not conditional, not distance-dependent. It is the one absolute in this property.

Which makes the empty container a regulated object

This shelf is 166 HDPE, 117 PET and 71 PP. Every container on it is plastic, and every empty one has to come back off the boat.

That is not a reason to stop selling plastic

Glass on a boat is worse and metal is not on this shelf. It is a reason to think about how much plastic goes aboard in the first place.

Which is the argument for the concentrate

One bottle of concentrate instead of four of ready-to-use is three fewer containers to bring home. The rule rewards the format the sprayer gap was already pushing us toward.

And for the larger container with a working bottle

A gallon in the locker and one small bottle refilled from it is less plastic aboard than six small bottles, with a transfer to manage instead.

Garbage handling spaces is a packaging phrase

The placard names a space for holding waste. On a boat that is a locker or a bag, and an empty oil bottle with a film in it belongs in a sealed one rather than loose.

So say it on the label

Keep the empty, bring it ashore. One line, and it is the only part of either placard that a packaging supplier can actually help with.

References

33 CFR 151.59, the garbage placard. The master or person in charge of a ship to which the section applies must display placards "at least 20 cm (8 in) wide by 12 1/2 cm (5 in) high, made of a durable material, and legible", "displayed in prominent locations and in sufficient numbers so that they can be read by the crew and passengers", in locations "readily accessible to the intended reader" which "may include embarkation points, food service facilities, garbage handling spaces, living spaces, and common areas on deck". The placard notifies of the prohibition on discharging garbage into the navigable waters of the United States and other waters except as specifically allowed, the complete prohibition on discharging plastic into all waters, liability for civil and criminal penalties, and the possibility of regional, state and local restrictions. law.cornell.edu

33 CFR 155.450. "A ship, except a ship of less than 26 feet in length, must have a placard", "at least 5 by 8 inches, made of durable material", fixed "in a conspicuous place in each machinery space, or at the bilge and ballast pump control station", stating "Discharge of Oil Prohibited" and setting out that the Federal Water Pollution Control Act prohibits the discharge of oil into the navigable waters of the United States, on pain of "substantial civil penalties and/or criminal sanctions including fines and imprisonment". The placard "must be printed in the language or languages understood by the crew". law.cornell.edu

Written from 40 CFR 110.3 and 33 CFR 155.450, and from the catalog as it stood on 18 October 2026. The Vessel General Permit, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act and in-water hull cleaning rules are named and not summarized; state and local rules on boat washing and marina discharge vary by water body. Whether a specific product may be used in the water is a question about that product and that water.