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far as possible by interviews and/or correspondence with the persons concerned,
it would appear that further powers will have to be obtained before they can all be
effectively eradicated.
Refuse Disposal.—The Refuse Disposal Plant which commenced on the 25th
September, 1934, is effectively handling the whole of the City's refuse and, as previously
mentioned, the centralisation of disposal effected an immediate saving in barging
costs, whilst a further saving in this direction may be confidently anticipated. Two
more conveyors were added to the Plant during the year, making eight in all, and
although nearly 110,000 tons of refuse were handled during the year, the Plant was
working well within its capacity. The erection of a new Central Depot, Garage,
Stores, etc., is now proceeding and this will completely surround and cover the Plant
from public view. Provision has also been made in the plans for the installation of
the latest type of Dust Extraction equipment and for the discharge of refuse into the
barges to be carried out in an enclosed tunnel with doors for sealing the tunnel at
each end when the barges are in position. Both the plant and the barges are
frequently sprayed with a fly preventative solution during the summer months which
has proved very effective. When the barges are fully loaded they are properly
covered with tarpaulins; one contractor is already using barges with fixed coamings
and wooden hatches and this requirement will be included in the specification of the
new contract for barging the remaining portion of the refuse when the current contract
expires.
In addition to regular inspection by the Supervisor of Refuse Disposal, the Contractors'
dumps to which the City's refuse is taken are periodically visited by Members
of the Committee and by the Director of Public Cleansing. The Dumps are also
inspected at intervals by representatives of the Essex County Council and satisfaction
has been expressed generally with regard to the manner in which they are
conducted."
Sanitary Inspection of the Area.
The following table shows in 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 conditions of the City. Details of inspections and
special surveys made under the Housing Acts during the year appear in
the Housing Section of this Report.