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closets is carried out by the Council. A vacuum emptier has been
purchased for this purpose.
5. Scavenging, Collection of House Refuse.—The collection
of house refuse is carried out weekly by means of six electric
vans, supplemented by horse-drawn vans, one electric van being
first used in July, 1920.
The Council have built a modern Refuse Destructor in Suffolk
Road, Seven Kings.
The Destructor was provided in 1914 and consists of two units
of three cells each, with their combustion chamber and Babcocks
and Willcocks boilers.
The Destructor is an improved type made by Messrs. Heenan
and Froude, and generates a temperature of 1,500 to 2,200 degrees
Fahr. The refuse is deposited into bins direct from the vans.
These bins are brought directly over the charging doors of the
cells by means of electric cranes. The charging doors are
operated by an electric motor, so that the refuse is not handled
by the men except that portion which drops when the door of the
van is removed previous to the discharge of the load into the bin.
The clinker is removed from the cells by means of a draw bar, so
that manual labour has been reduced as far as possible.
At the rear of the plant house a dust catcher has been erected
so that no nuisance can arise from this source.
The following figures give information as to the collection of
house refuse during the year 1920:—
Number of days on which collection was made 308
Number of vehicles employed 5,241
(Horse-drawn vehicles 5,027, electric vehicles 214.)
Average number of vehicles employed per day 17.07
(Horse-drawn vehicles 16.37, electric vehicles 1.38.)
Total number of loads collected 10,486
(Horses 10,008, electric vans 478.)
Average number of loads collected per day 34.04
Average loads collected per day:—
Horse-drawn vehicles 1.99
Electric vehicles 2.23
Average of both 2.00
Total weight of refuse collected 12,451 tons