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112
In connection with this resolution, the Public Health Committee of the County Council reported
that they had had under consideration the question, whether any alteration might, with advantage,
be made in the by-law framed by the Council in 1893, under section 16 (2) of the Public Health
(London) Act, 1891, to the effect that—" The sanitary authority shall cause to be removed not
less frequently than once in every week the house refuse produced on all premises within their
district." The Committee stated the reasons which make removal at frequent intervals necessary,
and expressed the opinion that the time had arrived when an effort should be made to secure
the collection of house refuse in London more often than once a week : in Edinburgh and some
other places the refuse is collected daily. The Committee added that in certain parts of London,
especially in business thoroughfares, a daily collection is in force, and they hoped that the effect
of the resolution adopted at the conference would be. to extend the system of daily removal.
Having regard, however, to the extent of London, and the varying circumstances of the different
districts, they did not think it practicable then to make a by-law requiring a universal daily
collection, but thought a bi-weekly collection to be practicable, and that it should be made
compulsory. They therefore proposed that the word 'twice' should be substituted for 'once'
in the existing by-law, and that a copy of the proposed amended by-law should be sent to the
sanitary authorities for their observations, pursuant to section 114 of the Public Health (London)
Act, 1891. This was done.
The specific recommendation made by the Committee was that by-law No. 7 should be
amended so as to read as follows :—
" The sanitary authority shall cause to be removed not less frequently than twice in every week
the houso refuse produced on all premises within their district."
As a condition precedent to the proposed alteration in the by-law, provision should be
made for the abolition of the fixed ' ash-pit,' i.e., the common brick dust-bin, ' furnished with
proper doors and coverings' (Public Health (London) Act, 1891, sec. 37 (1)). In the interpretation
section (141) of the Act, the expression ' ash-pit' is defined to mean ' any ash-pit, dust-bin,
ash-tub, or other receptacle for the deposit of ashes or refuse matter '; but the County Council's
by-law 16, requires that any ' ash-pit' newly provided shall be in the form of one or more movable
metal receptacles, with one or more suitable handles and cover. By-law 18 requires that where any
sanitary authority shall have arranged for the daily removal of house refuse in their district, or part
thereof, the owner of any premises shall provide an ' ash-pit,' in the form of a movable iron
receptacle. Such receptacles would have (under by-law 6) to be deposited upon the kerbstone of
the pavement in front of the house, or other conveniently accessible position, as the sanitary
authority may by written notice prescribe, in order to the collection therefrom of the refuse,
between such hours of the day as the sanitary authority may have fixed, and notified by public
announcement in their district. Such deposit of the ' ash-pit' on the kerbstone, etc., would not be
proper excepting in the case of a daily removal; but to facilitate even a bi-weekly removal it is
imperative, in order to avoid excessive increase in the cost of collection, that the refuse be stored
in movable receptacles, which admit of being carried from the premises to the dust-cart. The
proposal of the County Council did not meet with a favourable reception from the Borough
Councils, and no progress towards the realisation of the views of their Public Health Committee
has been made.
Stable Refuse.—In many former reports note has been taken of the frequency of
complaints of effluvium nuisance arising in the storage, and more especially in the removal of stable
refuse from pits underground. Thanks to the operation of the County Council's by-law, which has
always been carried out thoroughly in this borough, complaints in respect to this matter are
now relatively few in number ; and as a principal cause for complaint, the sunken dung-pit, is almost
a thing of the past, we may reasonably hope to have even less cause for annoyance on this score in
the future. The subject was fully dealt with in the annual report for 1894 (pp. 184-189), to which
I would refer anyone desirous of knowing what a serious difficulty was involved, until we were able,
generally, to abolish the brick receptacle, above or below ground, and to substitute the iron cage
now so familiar an object in the mews in this borough, not far short of two hundred in number.