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PUBLIC CLEANSING SERVICE
The Health Committee is responsible for the collection
and disposal of house and trade refuse, the collection and
sale of salvageable materials and the cleansing and maintenance
of public conveniences.
Refuse Collection and Disposal.
The collection and disposal of house refuse is carried
out by direct labour, and a weekly collection is made. Trade
refuse is cleared from shops and factories by arrangement
with the occupiers. A charge is made for this service, based
on the average quantity to be removed each week.
In the early part of the year difficulty was experienced
in maintaining a weekly collection, and considerable overtime
had to be worked to keep up to schedule. The introduction
of an incentive bonus scheme on September 1st changed
the picture completely and it was possible from this date to
maintain a weekly collection with the minimum amount of
overtime.
The improvement in the collection of refuse was reflected
in the falling off of the number of complaints received at
the office from September to the end of the year. The labour
position also became more stabilised and it was found possible
to recruit a better type of labour than previously. It
is pleasant to be able to record that the workmen contributed
admirably to the effective working of the new bonus scheme.
There has been a marked increase in the amount of
special refuse collected, e.g. old furniture, pianos, etc., and it
would seem that the Refuse Department is regarded by many
as a haulage contractor. People are finding it impossible to
dispose of abnormal house discards except through the refuse
service.
The Council operate a Salvage Scheme, and waste paper,
textiles, scrap metals, etc., are collected by means of trailers
attached to the refuse vehicles.
All refuse was disposed of by controlled tipping at Stone.
Disposal of the refuse and covering of the tip has been more
effectively carried out by the purchase of a second Bristol
Duplex tractor. Now that the Department has the two tractors
and the Muirhill Dumper, one tractor is used on the tip
head, the other vehicles being used for digging and carrying
of covering materials.
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