London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Poplar 1937

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Poplar, Metropolitan Borough]

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23
Section C.
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE BOROUGH.
Public Cleansing Services.
Included under this heading is the collection, removal and disposal
of household, trade and market refuse; street cleansing and watering;
gully and cesspool emptying; and snow removal.
I am indebted to Mr. Rees J. Williams, A.M.Inst.C.E., the Borough
Engineer and Surveyor, for the following particulars:—
House Refuse.
A minimum bi-weekly collection service is in operation, most bins
being placed on the kerb by the householder. The container system is
in operation in connection with flats and institutions, and the growth
of this system is maintained from year to year.
Number of petrol vehicles engaged in the work 22
Number of horse-drawn vans engaged in the work 1
Number of men engaged in the work 80
Trade Refuse.
This is collected and/or disposed of when requested by the trader,
at his expense.
Market Refuse.
The container system, augmented by the use of horse-drawn vans,
is in operation in the Street Markets.
Number of men permanently engaged in the work 16
(Additional men are engaged in this work at week-ends.)
Street Cleansing.
Important roads are swept daily and nightly; other roads daily by
beat system. In certain roads the beats are covered several times per day.
A new type of orderly truck of lighter construction, fitted with
pneumatic tyred wheels and two portable bins, has been introduced to
replace the wooden trucks, which were heavy, cumbersome and noisy.
This new type is in operation in half the Borough only.
With the introduction of the new orderly trucks a dustless system
of collection of street sweepings was put into operation in one half of