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more cells. There is a boiler capacity of 250 horse power,
but at present 60 horse power is sufficient to work the plant,
and the dynamo which supplies the electric light.
By working two shifts of 8 hours each, the destructor can
burn from 8-9 van-loads of refuse per cell per day. By
working three shifts, the working capacity is increased by 50
per cent., and would therefore be able to deal with the refuse
of 45,000 inhabitants, which is a large margin. The clinker,
which is very valuable in the Corporation work for road making,
etc., is formed in the proportion of 33 per cent, by weight of
the total amount of refuse destroyed.
Owing to its being now possible to institute a more economical
method of collecting and tipping the refuse, the working
expenses of the refuse destructor cause no increased expense to
the ratepayers, as the total expenses are now no more than was
formerly incurred in collection only.
The destructor has now been working for five months, and
there have been no complaints arising from dust or offensive
effluvia. It is proposed in the future to make a fixed charge for
the collection and disposal of trade refuse.
The Corporation have the authority of the Board of Agriculture
to dispose of the carcases of horses, cows, and pigs, which
have been ordered to be destroyed owing to infectious diseases,
and the Kent County Council have given permission for the
cremation in the destructor of the stray dogs of a large district
in this part of Kent.
The destructor has been built entirely from the designs of
our Borough Engineer, Mr. Stanley Hawkings, and we have