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Public Cleansing.
The collection and disposal of house refuse is under the
control of the Borough Engineer and Surveyor who has kindly
furnished the following information relating to the year 1948: —
Amount of house refuse (including
salvage) collected
during the year 39,983 tons.
Method of disposal Removed by barges from Honduras
Wharf, Bankside, to a controlled
tip.
Frequency of collection Weekly from dwelling houses and
twice weekly from blocks of flats
and tenements.
The need for improved methods for the collection of refuse
has in recent years become more urgent. This essential service,
vital to public health, continues to receive attention and much
improvement has been effected. There is a general demand for
something more hygienic to replace the ashbin of the household
equipment and the refuse chute of the modern flat. A combined
system of refuse disposal and drainage has been tried out in the
development of new towns but has not yet reached perfection.
The most serious objection to this system appears to be the loss
of salvage. The indiscriminate placing of house refuse of every
description into the dustbin for collection by a motor vehicle
is similarly wasteful.
The present economic needs of the country require the
adoption of a system providing maximum salvage recovery.
Improved methods of refuse collection linked to salvage collection
would seem to be the solution. Sorted refuse is of commercial
value, but the education of the ratepayers as to the
proper way to sort their refuse to enable it to be collected as raw
material for utilisation is not easy. Their co-operation is essential
to obtain an improved method of collection, and it is for the
local authority to provide a frequent collection service.
SANITARY INSPECTION OF THE AREA.
Reference to the table on page 14 shows that 6,274 intimation
notices and 2,687 statutory notices were served during 1948.
Complaints registered were 8,823 as compared with 4,625 in the
pre-war year 1938. Various adverse circumstances combine to
make the work of the sanitary inspector difficult.
In spite of every effort the number of sanitary inspectors
continued to be below establishment and consequently urgent
attention could not always be given to these complaints. It is
greatly to the credit of the inspectors that nuisances were
attended to as expeditiously as they were.