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62
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In the early part of the year, the Ministry of Health published a
report by Mr. J. C. Dawes, Inspector of Cleansing, etc., to the Ministry,
upon his investigation of the public cleansing services in London and the
methods of disposal of refuse by municipal authorities. This report was
of such a character that a Departmental Committee was appointed to
consider as to certain recommendations which it might be deemed desirable
to adopt. The outcome of these deliberations is awaited with interest.
It is certain that some of the methods of refuse collection and disposal
in vogue in the County call for reform. It would appear to be among the
first principles in public health that refuse should be promptly removed in a
manner the least likely to cause public nuisance and that the final disposal
should ensure that the mass should be organically inert, free from the
possibilities of fermentation or combustion. Briefly, that dust should
return to dust.
During the past year, the Council has experimented with various
types of refuse-collecting vehicles with a view to the provision of a system
of refuse-collection which shall, as far as possible, be dustless in operation.
A final decision as to the system to be adopted cannot, however, be reached
until the recommendations of the Departmental Committee have been
published; but in the meantime these experiments are being continued.
Public Sanitary Conveniences.—These are under the control of the
City Engineer. There are 33 underground conveniences in the City,
18 for men and 15 for women. In addition, there are 36 public urinals
for men. The underground conveniences were inspected in the early part
of the year at the request of the Works Committee, and as a result certain
improvements in the ventilation have since been carried out in 22 of them.
It is the intention of the Council to reconstruct certain of the underground
conveniences which are old and out-of-date and insufficient in
accommodation.
Sanitary Inspection of the Area.
The following table shows in considerable detail matters relating
to the general sanitary condition of the City. The work of the district
sanitary inspectors is performed under several main headings ; inspection
of nuisances and other insanitary conditions, whether on complaint or
otherwise; supervision of all new sanitary fittings and drainage in old
and new buildings, which includes reporting on plans of proposed sanitary
construction in respect of requirements laid down in the By-laws under
the Metropolis Management Acts and the Public Health (London) Act,
1891, duties connected with housing and infectious disease, and others
relating to the sanitary condition of the City.