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10
SCAVENGING.
Refuse Collection.—The collection of house refuse in the Borough is under
the jurisdiction of the Highways Committee of the Council and under the control
of the Borough Engineer, Mr. James Gair, to whom I am indebted for the information
given here. The system of collection is continually under revision and
changes are made from time to time with a view of more efficient working. All
premises in the Borough now receive at least a twice weekly collection. In addition,
over a great portion of the Borough a daily collection is made, and in certain streets
in which refuse collecting vehicles are prohibited by the Ministry of Transport during
certain hours, collection is carried out from the kerb within the hours prescribed.
This naturally entails a greater concentration of collecting vehicles in certain parts
of the Borough and still further increases the number of calls made per annum.
Considerable increase continues in the number of large premises, such as blocks of
flats, hotels, etc., where the " container " system of collection is in operation.
This method provides for the provision of special containers, which are purchased
by the owners of properties. Collection is made daily with the exception of
Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday and Bank Holidays. The containers are
removed bodily from the premises and conveyed to the Council's Wharf, where
they are emptied and cleansed and disinfected before being returned to the
premises. This method, obviously more hygienic, is also quicker and less noisy
in working and far more satisfactory than refuse bin collection.
The Council have decided to purchase a complete new fleet of house refuse
collecting vehicles, spread over a period of three years, and it is anticipated that
the first quota will be obtained during the year 1932. It is hoped that the acquisition
of these vehicles will enable the house refuse collection to be carried out in a
more efficient and hygienic manner than previously.
Refuse Disposal.—With regard to disposal, the whole of the refuse collected in
the Borough is taken to the Council's Wharf at Paddington and there discharged
into a collecting pit. From this it is taken by means of an electric crane into a
screen having a graded mesh which separates the large and small material. The
larger material passes along a picking belt and from this is extracted saleable
material, such as waste paper, rags, bones, scrap metal, etc., the latter finding a
ready sale. The fine ashes and breeze obtained by screening is, during the winter
months, disposed of to brickmakers and others, so that practically none of this
material is dumped on to the Shoot. The residue from the picking belt is conveyed
to a Woodall-Duckham refuse destructor, which is mechanically fed, and
elinkered. It had been the intention of the Committee to extend this system but
pending a definite decision as to the steps to be taken to regularise or consolidate
the collection of refuse in London as a whole on the lines of the Dawes' report or
otherwise, further action has been postponed. The system now obtaining for
disposal of refuse at the Council's Wharf practically eliminates the need for the
conveyance of crude refuse to the Council's Shoot at Northolt, where, in any case,
all material which is dumped is carefully covered and so dealt with as to conform
to the Ministry of Health's regulations for controlled tipping.
Street Sweepings.—Street sweepings are collected by means of special vans
and conveyed to the Council's Wharf. Here the greater part is passed through a
pulveriser and is disposed of to market gardeners, etc., for use as a fertiliser, the
remainder being conveyed to the Council's Shoot and used for covering the surface
of the dump. During the year a new fleet of motor vehicles was purchased and
put into commission. These replaced the old horse-drawn vehicles and together
with the use of improved orderly barrows has enabled the system of street sweeping
to be reorganised. The Borough has been divided into beats and each sweeper is
given a definite length of public way for which he is entirely responsible.
This system applies also to the sweeping gangs employed at night. Each of the
orderly barrows carries two galvanized refuse bins into which the sweepings are
placed by the man in charge. Periodical calls are made during the day at
prearranged collecting spots and the contents of the bins are loaded into vans
and conveyed to the Wharf as shown above. When the fleet of motors is
complete, it is the intention entirely to dispense with horse-drawn vehicles and