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The refuse is either disposed of by incineration in the Council's destructor at Wood Lane or
removed by barge from the wharves in Kensal Road and Lots Road. Trade refuse is removed by
the Council on payment of a fee in accordance with the provisions of Section 33 of the Public
Health (London) Act, 1891. Fish offal and other offensive trade products, which could be removed
on application as trade refuse, are for the most part removed and sold by the persons to whom this
class of refuse belongs.
During the year, the Minister of Transport, on the advice of the London and Home Counties
Traffic Advisory Committee and in the exercise of his powers under the London Traffic Act, 1924,
made Regulations prescribing the times during which vehicles may be used in certain main streets
for collecting house refuse. The Regulations contained the provision that house refuse should not
be collected in specified streets between the hours of nine o'clock in the morning and seven o'clock
in the evening.
In order to comply with the Regulations, the Council decided upon a daily collection in the
specified streets and availed themselves of the powers conferred by the by-law made by the London
County Council under Section 16 (2) of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891. This by-law provides
that "where the local authority determine upon a daily collection of house refuse, they may
require the occupiers of premises affected to place their dustbins on the kerb-stone or on the outer
edge of the footway or in an easily accessible position on the premises at such hour as the said
authority may fix." Notices were served on the occupiers of premises requiring them to place their
dust receptacles in the desired position not later than eight o'clock in the morning.
During the past year, 762 removable ashbins of galvanised iron have been provided and 117
fixed ashpits of brick have been abolished under the powers conferred by Section 23 of the London
County Council (General Powers) Act, 1904, as a result of notices served by the Sanitary Inspectors.
REFUSE REMOVAL FROM MEWS.
The common dustbins installed by the Council in 1921, in 21 mewsways in North Kensington
at the expense of the owners, have continued to prove a satisfactory arrangement for storing
house refuse in these particular mews in which there is a number of dwellings, stables and
costermongers' stores.
The problem of securing hygienic conditions in mewsways has been tackled with considerable
success during the past three years as a result of close co-operation between the officers in the
Public Health Department and the Borough Engineer's Department.
The Borough Engineer has undertaken a more extensive surface sweeping of the mewsways
with the result that there is a general appearance of tidiness, and no complaints have arisen in
regard to decomposing trade and other refuse deposited on the mewsway surfaces.
Collections of house refuse are made at least twice weekly in all North Kensington mews.
PUBLIC CONVENIENCES.
The Council provide six public lavatories containing water-closets; two are for men only
and in four accommodation is provided for both sexes. In addition there are 12 urinals for men
under the charge of the Council. In the men's and women's lavatories there is free accommodation
for those who are unable to pay. There are also conveniences for men and women at eleven
railway stations in the Borough. The public-house urinals entered from the street and available
to the public number 75. The public conveniences in the Borough have been regularly inspected
during the year, those for women in stations and elsewhere having been kept under observation
by the Women Health Officers.
SMOKE ABATEMENT.
The Borough contains but few factories or other workplaces where there is a considerable fuel
consumption and thus the problem of smoke abatement is not a very large one. Nevertheless, in a
Borough which is essentially residential in character, it is very desirable that the nuisance from
smoke should be reduced to a minimum, and during the year the Council's Sanitary Inspectors
made 340 special observations with a view to ascertaining whether there were any breaches of the
smoke provisions of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891. The only nuisances discovered were
in the northern portion of the Borough, in which district it was necessary to serve three notices,
which were followed by abatement.
INCREASE OF RENT AND MORTGAGE INTEREST (RESTRICTIONS)
ACTS, 1920-23.
Applications made to the Council in 1926 for certificates under the Acts totalled 15, and
11 certificates were granted.
The comparative failure by tenants to attempt to make use of the provisions of the Acts is
probably due to the fact that most houses in a defective state of repair come under the notice of
the Sanitary Inspectors, who put the Public Health Acts into operation.
RAG FLOCK ACT, 1911.
Four samples of rag flock were analysed and reported on during the year. They contained 22
20, 15 and 9 parts of chlorine per 100,000, the limit set by the Regulations being 30 parts.