Dirty Dustbins and Sloppy Streets

to the manner of the disposal of the house refuse after it has been collected by the

nced in disposing of it, if not altogether at a profit, at least at a small loss upon the cost of collection, as farmers and market gardeners will readily buy house refuse at prices varying from sixpence to three shillings a load to use as a top dressing or manure upon their land, and a very rich and fertilizing manure it makes, notwithstanding the outcry that is som

delay in its collection from the houses, it is necessary for every town to provide one o

ery carefully selected, bearing th

ced so as to be readily accessible to the carts and waggons of the farmers, the customers, and above all, they must be so situated with regard to any dwelling-houses or public roads as not to cause any nuisance, or be injurious to health in any possible manner, and for this purpose

ut as it generally swarms with countless numbers of rats, it is just as well that no stacks

terwards becomes, and it shrinks nearly twelve per cent. after a few months' exposure to wind and rain; it is therefore necessary to unload each cart as it arrives from the town on to an enormous heap or[34] mound, from the other end of which the measured heaps are made up after the material has become stale and sunken. Another cause for the shrinkage and reduction of bulk of house refuse after reception at the dep?t is the necessary removal of all the old tins, broken crockery, broken flower pots, &c., befo

s to sell the collected house refuse to farmers, market-gardeners, or others, for use as manure, and in such cases, where

n engaged in[35] preparing the returns to which reference has already been made,

replies to this. Amongst

ter plan than that of another town, where it is "given or thrown away," although the difficulty of disposing of the old iron, tins, &c., is not touched upon in any of the foregoing answers. The next reply states that "it is riddled, and the cinders and vegetable refuse are burnt to generate steam, the fine dust is used with the manure manufactory (tub system), the old iron is sold, and the pots, &c., used for the foundations of roads." In one case the whole of

r so surely will disease, and perhaps death, be his visitor. I will not here enter into the details, or describe the medical reasons why such sites are unhealthy for dwelling-houses, as the fact is almost self-evident, and the practise of using either house refuse or street sweepings for such a purpose has[37] been condemned by sanitary experts over and over again. But I will pass on to describe a method of disposal of town refuse which is now gaining some popularity in localities where difficulties are experienced in getting rid of the refuse by any of the means to which reference has been made, and which up to the present time seems to be the best solution of the dif

ich is withdrawn through a sliding door fixed at the bottom of the[38] kiln. The inventor further contends that his Carboniser not only burns everything within it so thoroughly and completely as

the "Carboniser," except that it has no tall kiln containing the hopper-shaped compartments. Great heat is, however, necessary in order to fuse the mass of heterogeneous articles that are thrown into it, and its success is greatly dependant upon such heat being constantly a

s experienced in the vicinity of the dep?ts.[39] This apparatus has, I understand, been adopted in Kralinge

of house refuse in connection with the pail system at Manchester will not be out of place, especially with regard to the reference which is made to Fryer's Carbonisers and Destructors, and it must be borne in mind that the refuse here spoken of is wet, which makes the difficulties connected with its destruction by fire greater than it would be if only dry, or comparatively

4

ave been constructed on the cinder sifter principle, and are em

fuse; the other four compartments are covered and enclosed with tightly fitting doors. Each of these compartments holds six galvanised iron pails, which are also covered with closely fit

the closets which are emptied during the night are taken away in open carts, two-thirds to the tips and

ats, rats, mice, guinea pigs, &c.,[41] 2 tons; stable manure, 17 tons; meat tins, old tin and iron, 33 tons; refuse from slaughter-houses and fish shops, &c., 60 tons; bro

ts, smiths, saddlers, tinmen, engineers, mechanics, manure and mortar makers, stablemen, and l

e solid portion of the excreta[42] falls through the wide-barred portion of the grid into suitable receptacles. The rough portion of the dry refuse, after being separated from the fine, is carried along a movable and endless table to the mortar mills, the boiler, or to one of the various furnaces, of which there are several in the yard. This dry refuse is of such a heterogeneous character as to require various modes of treatment. It is made up of paper, rats, meat tins, straw, cabbage leaves, onions, apples, turnips, fish bones, dead cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, fowls, brush heads, old boots, old books, knives, forks, spoons, children's toys, old hats, old bonnets, crinoline w

4

hich is placed in close contiguity. The spent fuel is carted to the mills, and is there converted into mortar-a mortar, too, of the best description-as the samples of brickwork built with it and exhibited abundantly testify. This concretor, which is driven by steam power, is a large cylinder of a peculiar internal construction, which exposes an extensive evaporating surface to the heat from the destructor, which passes through the cylinder from

4

carbonising is patented by the Universal Charcoal Company, Limited, who are to receive a royalty, we understand, from the Health Committee for the use of their patent. There is a tall

which these matters are dealt

evident that unless a ready sale for the refuse can be effected, by far the best method of disposing of it seems to be t

e question of the cost of the whole of this work must be deferred until the final chapter, after I have dealt[45] with the subject of street sweeping and cleansing, the removal of snow, and a short ch