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46
SECTION H.
REFUSE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL.
Some 50 tons of household refuse are collected daily from the
18,535 dwelling houses in the district and this is disposed of by
controlled tipping. A weekly collection is made in the district,
with the exception of the rural part of the area which receives
a fortnightly service.
No trade refuse is collected by the Council but shop-keepers
can, for a small charge, deliver their refuse at the disposal tip
and a number of shop-keepers regularly do this by means of
their delivery vans and in this way are able easily to dispose of
tins, etc.
The method of operating the weekly collection is the relay
system, four teams (two vehicles each) operating in the district.
The refuse in the rural part of the district is collected fortnightly
by one team (hired vehicle and driver).
One refuse vehicle is used for the collection from the two
large hospitals and the numerous schools, also for bulky refuse
such as old water tanks from dwelling houses, which cannot be
handled by the normal collecting teams. Old water tanks, etc.,
too readily find their way to vacant and waste plots of land and
I am hoping by this service to see a tidier district.
Eleven self-contained all steel and metal lined, side-loading
refuse collecting vehicles with sliding covers are owned by the
Council, one of which is used solely for the collection of kitchen
waste. One vehicle is kept in reserve and brought into use at
times of breakdown or servicing of the regular vehicles.
The collectors are supplied with skips and in a district where
the length of carry from the dustbin position to the vehicle is
considerable, this is a great saving in manpower as only one trip
to the premises is necessary.
The cost of the collection and disposal of the refuse was
equivalent to a rate poundage of 7.85d.
534 tons 18 cwts of kitchen waste was collected from the
communal street bins and shops and this was sold for £1,788 2s. 4d.
The first essential to a satisfactory refuse collecting service
is, in my opinion, regularity of collection. Every endeavour is
made to keep to the same collecting day each week, as householders
like to know the day on which to expect the refuse
collector, especially those who are away all day and usually lock
their gates.