Little, daily activities can become a lot harder when living in a van, particularly if trying to maximise the stealth camping angle. Things like where to dump your rubbish without attracting attention can get tricky. When urban camping especially, it becomes really important to maintain a good image when you might regularly return to a particular area. Managing your rubbish doesn’t have to be something that looks suspicious. I talk through a couple of ideas to make this easier below.
Keeping the van tidy
The van is a tiny space, and it can get messy quickly. Just as when living in a house, dealing with rubbish right away is your best bet for keeping a homely environment. This is even more true when living in a van, because anything not put away will end up causing even more of a mess once you drive off, and some parts of the van can be really hard to get to for cleaning (One day I’ll write about the time I spilt corned beef liquid everywhere!).
Something I find helpful is to have a rubbish bin that is easy:
- to access from anywhere in the van
- to remove and empty
- to clean
This may seem obvious, but some van builds have rubbish bins that are tucked away neatly out of sight, with a 3-step process to be able to get to them. As with all things in a van build, stuff that is too hard to get to – whether for aesthetics or space-saving – may just mean that it’s too hard to practically use.
I have a small, simple bin with a lid in the footwell of the side door in the back of the van. This looks neat, and is still easy to get to when emptying. It’s also equally easy to reach from my kitchen benchtop next to the side door, and from the corridor between my bed and the other side bench. The bin would sometimes topple over and out of the van when the side door was open. I fixed this by securing it with velcro hook and loop tape (a van essential). This bin holds a reasonable amount of rubbish for one person, but is also relatively easy to empty.
In the name of ease of access, I also have a mini rubbish bin in the cab, hooked onto the passenger seat. A cab rubbish bag may seem like a pointless idea, but it can actually be very handy, for snack wrappers while driving and so on. Rather than thinking I’ll remember to put it in a bin later, I can collect it neatly right there and then.
A cab rubbish bag also makes it easy to empty this any time I hop out at a petrol station or a park, reducing my total amount of rubbish collected in my other rubbish bin too. From a stealth point of view, it also doesn’t stand out to anyone looking in the cab either.
Recycle, recycle, recycle
It’s really important to me to recycle as much as I can. It’s not always easy or possible when living in a van, but I do my best. I don’t aim for perfection here – if recycling is piling up in the van with nowhere to dispose of it, I might just get rid of it.
I find my living environment impacts my mental state quite significantly, so if not recycling on a particular day or even a particular week = better functioning Van Girl, so be it. However, a good reason to recycle when possible in the van is that it reduces the total amount of rubbish you have to get rid of at any one time.
Essentially, I have three streams of recycling – soft plastics, general recycling that would go in a kerbside recycling bin, and composting. Green waste or composting is probably the trickiest to manage in the van. I talk about how I manage recycling in the van more here.
Emptying your bins
As I mentioned, I often empty my small cab rubbish bag when I stop for fuel, or stop by a park or by the beach during the day. It doesn’t matter quite so much to be inconspicuous in an area where van travellers do stop by. Being seen to empty my own small bin into a public rubbish bin is more likely to be seen as being neat and courteous. This is far better than littering or dumping rubbish, which some people unfortunately expect of vanlifers. Recycling also comes in handy here, as you are not putting gross-smelling rubbish in public bins, which might dampen any good will. Some public areas do have bins for recycling – in which case, definitely use these for recycling.
If your rubbish is already neatly in your rubbish bin, it also leaves less of an impression on others. As with anything stealth, the key is to look confident in what you are doing, so that you aren’t questioned. If you’re concerned someone may have a problem with you emptying your rubbish into public bins, this can be the last thing you do before you leave an area, or you can attempt to do it when less people are passing by.
Remember, you are not doing anything wrong (at least by the laws in the areas I have lived in a van). Some public bins have signs stating that they are not to be used for disposal of household or business rubbish. If you were dumping a large amount of rubbish in the bin, then perhaps this would ring true. But one person’s small amount of rubbish that could easily be amassed in a vehicle amounts to hardly more than a couple of fast food bags – and without a house, how could you even have any household waste?
Honestly, I have never had any trouble when emptying my rubbish bins, although from time to time you do get some odd looks, and it can feel like you’re doing something you shouldn’t, especially the first few times. No one has ever actually bothered to say anything to me, which is reassuring.
Emptying recycling can be a bit trickier…
Soft Plastics:
Soft plastics are easy – they can be dropped off at any Coles or Woolworths with the RedCycle program, and I believe some other supermarkets too – as long as they are clean. You can collect a lot of soft plastic at once, since it compresses down so much, and you can drop it off when getting groceries – simple!
Kerbside recycling – cardboard, cans, bottles, hard plastics, glass:
This kind of recycling can be bulky and take up a lot of space, so this is something I’m usually keen to get rid of asap. If you come upon public recycling bins, definitely make use of these – they can be a great option.
My work and uni also both have multi-stream waste disposal, so sometimes I’ll take a small stash of recycling to get rid of discreetly when I’m going in anyway.
The other option feels a bit sketchy – but it’s for a good cause! I’m talking, of course, about a sneaky kerbside rubbish drive-by. This definitely feels a bit suss, especially if you do it at night, but if you know a good suburb, you could also do it casually during the day when neighbours aren’t around. Work out when bin day for recycling is, and then just stop by and tip your small amount of recycling into a bin on the street.
This approach might cause some irritation if someone sees you, but if there’s plenty of room left in the bin, you shouldn’t really be causing any issues. Of course, if someone objects, don’t push your luck, but politely apologise and move on.
The easiest and most foolproof solution, of course, is – if you have family or friends who live nearby, consider asking them if you can have an arrangement where you drop off your rubbish in their bins on bin day. Hassle free!
For any of these options, keep it tidy. Make sure you are recycling neatly and in line with the council requirements for that area.
Composting/Green Waste
What about food scraps and compostable items, such as industrial composting takeaway food packaging? Again, if you have friends or family who are willing for you to make use of their green waste bin or compost bin, this is likely the easiest solution.
Another great option is to check out your local community gardens. Community gardens are great collective initiatives that have a great spirit and attitude to them. A lot of them actually accept food scraps for their composting systems – you can usually check on their website or give them a call to see if they’re happy to do this in your area.
If neither of these options are going to work for you, you can also look into ShareWaste. ShareWaste is almost a combination of the community garden spirit of sharing and the family/friend idea. It is essentially a website where you can check for people near you who are happy to accept your food scraps or other green waste. This might be for their own compost piles or bins, or because they have chickens to feed. Either way, it’s a great initiative. I haven’t really had a chance to use it, as I’ve been able to do the other two, but it’s always been my back up and I think it’s a wonderful idea.
I keep my green waste stored in my fridge to reduce odours until I have a chance to dispose of it.
Summary
There are a few key principles to managing rubbish in your van – it might feel a little sneakier or be met with a little more disapproving glares, but thankfully it’s not really all that difficult! The main things to remember are:
- Put away your rubbish immediately into a bin or a receptacle that works for you, within the van
- Make it easy to access your bin/s, so that you will actually use them
- Empty your rubbish frequently where possible
- Recycle where possible, both for the earth and for ease of rubbish disposal
- Empty your rubbish into public bins with confidence – no one is paying as much attention as you might think!
- Make use of your community – whether friends or family, or community gardens or groups – there is a network out there that is very happy to turn your rubbish into something useful!
I know this is a relatively straightforward topic, but it was one of those things I puzzled over before starting stealth van life. I hope this has been helpful nonetheless!