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48
(b). Removal of House Refuse.
During the year 3,094 loads of refuse have been removed from
the houses in the District; the system in vogue is a weekly
collection, the refuse from each house, except where unavoidable,
being removed once a week on specified days. The refuse of the
house is stored in galvanized iron bins, which, when emptied, are
dusted with carbolic powder. The dust is removed by means of
Glover's covered carts with wind guards.
The work is carried out by contract at a rate per day for horse,
harness and man ; the Council supplying the cart and one dustman.
The District is divided into three Sub-Districts for the purposes of
collecting, and reports are made daily to the Surveyor as to the
progress of the work for each of these Sub-Districts. It is a pity
that with such an efficient method for the removal of refuse, that
the method of disposal is so primitive. Under his contract, the
contractor is bound to find his own shoot, and this with a rapidly
growing district becomes more difficult every day ; the consequence
being that the refuse finds its way into the disused sand or
gravel pits frequently situate at or near the rear of houses in
course of erection, and although constant supervision is exercised
to see that no nuisance is created by covering the refuse with
earth and gas lime, the practice must be deprecated, inasmuch
as a subsoil composed of such material and especially where so
short a distance from the house, cannot be conducive to the
health of the inmates. Under these conditions a refuse destructor
should be erected at the earliest possible moment, so as to dispose
of the material collected in the most sanitary manner.
In my last Report, I expressed the hope that this object would
shortly be attained as the Council has decided to proceed with the
erection of a properly designed refuse destructor, but up to the
present nothing has been done except plans prepared.
Two sites have been purchased, one on the north side of the
district adjoining the Canal at Hayes Bridge, with a private dock
accommodation. (This site has an area of about 4 acres), and the
other on the south side of the District, on the west of Norwood
Mill on what is known as the Adelaide Estate. This site has also
private dock accommodation, and has an area of about 3 acres.
The Council propose utilizing this latter site first, and the
Engineer has prepared the necessary plans.
Workshops and Workplaces.
The Workshops and Workplaces in the district consist
chiefly of joiners, carpenters, and other industries connected with
the building trade. There is no special workshop industry
carried on in the district. Workshops connected with wearing