View report page

41
from the banks, augmented by the silt washed off the surface of the roads,
collects at points in the river, forming banks of mud; on such deposits
further debris collects. Added to this is further rubbish which people
deposit in the river. The Thames Conservators can prosecute those who
deposit rubbish into the watercourse; their difficulty, of course, is to
discover the culprits. The Council is faced with the same difficulty. In
the ultimate "the local authority may themselves do forthwith what they
consider necessary to abate the nuisance and to prevent a recurrence
thereof." An impediment to speedy action being taken is that, before
carrying out any work, the Authority is obliged to consult the Thames
Conservators. The position at the end of the year was that on the
completion of the Pinner relief foul water sewer scheme, the Thames
Conservators are to be approached with a view to there being a general
discussion on the matter.
PUBLIC CLEANSING
Much the same arrangements for the collection of refuse, its disposal
and for street cleansing were continued last year as were described in the
Annual Report for 1954.
Each week some 960 tons of refuse are collected by the 40 mechanical
vehicles from some 70,000 premises in the district. Other arrangements
are made for the collection of waste paper from shops and business
premises.
For the last few years house refuse from this district has been taken
to a tip at Harefield some five miles from the western boundary of the
district. The present agreement with the Uxbridge Corporation runs to
the 31st March, 1964.
The Urban District Council had contemplated erecting plants for the
disposal of refuse at sites at Newton Farm and at the Great Stanmore
Sewage Farm. A scheme for the construction of a new separation and
incineration plant at Newton Farm was submitted to the Minister in 1952,
and an enquiry was held. No sanction, however, was received to this
proposal, the Minister apparently favouring controlled tipping.
The Surveyor was asked to report on the question of the provision
of a refuse destructor. In regard to this, he pointed out that tipping
space would still have to be found for some 25 to 30 thousand tons of
clinker and tailing. The Highways and Cleansing Committee decided to
defer consideration of the matter for a further twelve months. In the
meantime, the Engineer was to look into the possibility of obtaining an
option on the use of dry pits, and alternatively to consider joint action
by neighbouring authorities in the matter of refuse disposal.
Trade Waste. When house refuse was treated at disposal works in
the district, traders could get rid of their refuse at low cost if it was
delivered to the site. With the present methods of disposal by which all
refuse has to be carted outside the district, these facilities are no longer
aviable. One effect is the increase in the volume of smoke because, not
only do traders get rid of some of their waste by burning, but some large
factories have to do the same. The absence of facilities for removing the
wastes at shops leads to accumulations in the yards. These accumulations