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36
In July, complaints were received from the occupants of some houses
of Handel Way, Edgware, about foul water out-cropping by the rear
boundary fence of Nos. 63 and 65, which runs parallel to the bank of
the Edgware brook.
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.
Refuse Disposal. For the last few years house refuse from the
district has been taken to a tip at Harefield. The present agreement with
the Uxbridge Corporation runs to the 31st March, 1964. Because the
life of the available tips is limited, the Uxbridge Corporation are considering
future arrangements for the disposal of the refuse of their district.
This may involve finding some other site or some other arrangements for
disposal. The Uxbridge Corporation then invited Harrow and Ruislip/
Northwood to consider the possibility of setting-up a joint committee to
explore the question of providing a refuse destructor to serve the three
areas.
Collection of Refuse. The number of bins collected has now
reached over 81,000. The contents are deposited in vehicles which travel
an average distance of twelve miles to the tip at Harefield.
The refuse from business and shop premises is collected on this
normal weekly refuse collection round. A charge is made for the emptying
of any bins more than the one for each property. In addition, special
collections are made at a charge from those premises where there is more
than can be dealt with by the normal services.
In addition to the waste paper collected on the normal weekly refuse
collection, a free waste paper and cardboard collection service is provided
by the fortnightly collection made to 3,339 shops and business premises.
For the removal of trade refuse a charge has to be made. From the
public health point of view there would be fewer problems arising from
accumulations at the back of shops which might harbour rats, and fewer
complaints of smoke, the result of the shopkeeper getting rid of some of
the containers by burning, if the refuse could be removed without charge.
Since the time that all refuse has had to be taken to the tip at Harefield.
facilities which previously could be taken advantage of are no longer
available; for instance, waste matter could be accepted at the destructor
without charge if private arrangements were made for it to be delivered
there. As the law stands though, a charge must be made for the collection
of trade refuse. The position is rather different in regard to house
refuse. The Public Health Committee has at different times over the
years asked the Highways & Cleansing Committee if they could extend
the construction of the term "house refuse" beyond that matter which
ordinarily finds its way into the household bin and is removed each week
The special interest of the Public Health Committee in the subject has