View report page

The Loading of London House, &c., Refuse into Barges from Wharves on
the River Thames.
Bye-laws made by the Port of London Sanitary Authority in 1894 provide that
dustbin and other offensive refuse carried in a vessel within the district of the Port
Sanitary Authority shall not be loaded above the coamings or hatches and shall be
properly and securely covered so as to prevent nuisance from or escape of refuse.
The Bye-laws further require that a vessel loaded with refuse shall not remain in the
district of the Port Sanitary Authority more than 48 hours.
In spite of these Bye-laws the conditions under which refuse is loaded, transported
and discharged in your district are very unsatisfactory. With few exceptions the
loading berths are not properly equipped to prevent refuse blowing about or falling
into the river or on to the foreshore during the operation of filling the barges. The
barges are regularly loaded high above the coamings and the refuse is inadequately
covered during transport down river. At the discharging berths loaded barges often
lie uncovered for 24 hours and the foreshore is littered with refuse which has fallen
from the grabs.
It has been recognised that it is unreasonable to prohibit the loading of lighters
above the permanent coamings because the refuse is so light, perhaps weighing only
six or seven cwt. per cubic yard, and it has been accepted that temporary coamings
should be allowed. This is quite satisfactory if the temporary coamings are of solid
construction, but wooden gates are unsatisfactory and sheets of corrugated iron are
worse. Proper covering of the refuse is impossible if the refuse is stacked high above
the coamings unless good temporary coamings are fixed. The usual material employed
for covering is hessian, and when tarpaulins are asked for the reply is given that the
refuse gets very hot under the tarpaulins, which consequently perish rapidly. It is
obvious that hessian is easily torn, and unless it is kept in good condition it is a most
inefficient covering.
Many Statutory Notices have been served in respect of infringements of the Byelaws,
and they are followed by temporary improvement so far as the particular craft
are concerned, but there is no general improvement. I submit that repeated prosecutions
are not the best way of solving this problem. The trouble really is that your
Officers almost inevitably come on the scene too late ; the offence has already been
committed. The problem should be dealt with at its source, viz., the loading berths,
but this can only be done by the Corporation of the City and the Councils of the
Metropolitan Boroughs through their Superintendents of Cleansing. I would further
suggest that it is unreasonable to require the men in charge of the barges to take
steps to prevent refuse blowing or falling into the river Avhen similar steps are
not taken at the loading berths. I recently visited the refuse wharf of the City of
Westminster in Grosvenor Dock, where, on account of the proximity of a block of
flats, it has been necessary to take special precautions against the occurrence of any
nuisance. Here I saw what can be done in the way of screening barges during loading
and of covering loaded barges awaiting removal. The Stepney Borough Council
also carry out the loading of refuse under very satisfactory conditions at Duke Shore
Wharf.
But at the majority of refuse wharves it appears that little attention is paid
to the prevention of refuse falling or blowing into the river during loading, and no
effort is made to see that barges are covered, so as to comply with the Bye-laws of
the Port of London Sanitary Authority before they leave the wharf. Unless conditions
are improved at the wharves and the loading and covering of barges is closely supervised
there, it will continue to be almost impossible for your Sanitary Inspectors on the
River to enforce compliance with your Bye-laws.