So much depends upon the position of every town and the character of the district in which it is situated2, that no hard and fast lines can be laid down in reply to this question, if, however, the town is fortunate enough to be the centre of an agricultural district, or there are ready and economical means of conveying the refuse there, no difficulty should be experienced in disposing of it, if not altogether at a profit, at least at a small loss upon the cost of collection, as farmers and market gardeners will readily buy house refuse at prices varying from sixpence to three shillings a load to use as a top dressing3 or manure4 upon their land, and a very rich and fertilizing5 manure it makes, notwithstanding the outcry that is sometimes raised against it that it[32] produces rank weeds, owing to the seeds of such vegetation being found in every domestic dustbin, the fact really being that all manures will foster and help the growth of weeds, as well as cereals or roots, and the appearance of a prolific6 crop of weeds points rather to bad and careless farming than to the use of inferior manure.
In order to suit the convenience of the customers for refuse, and in order to prevent any delay in its collection from the houses, it is necessary for every town to provide one or more dep?ts in which the refuse may be so deposited from day to day as it is collected.
The site of each dep?t should be very carefully selected, bearing the following requisitions in mind:—
They should not be at greater distances from the town than would allow the carts to make from three to four journeys a day, and it is evident that their position should, so much as possible, avoid the necessity for the carts to pass through the town when full; they must also be placed so as to be readily accessible to the carts and waggons7 of the farmers, the customers, and above all, they must be so situated with regard to any dwelling-houses or public roads as not to cause any nuisance, or be injurious to health in any possible manner, and for this purpose[33] a knowledge of the prevailing8 wind in that neighbourhood would be useful, and care must also be taken that no stream or water-course from which the supply of any drinking water is obtained is likely to become polluted by having such an unpleasant neighbour as a "refuse dep?t."
The dep?t need only be an open field securely railed off against trespassers or pilferers, but as it generally swarms9 with countless10 numbers of rats, it is just as well that no stacks or barns should be erected11 in its vicinity, if their owner has any wish to preserve his corn.
In this dep?t, the site of which has been selected with all due care, the refuse should be made up into measured heaps, a convenient size for them being found to be twelve feet square by six feet high; these heaps are then sold as they stand to farmers and others who send their carts and waggons to remove them, thus preventing any possibility of mistake or dispute arising as to the number of loads each customer pays for and receives. The refuse, when first brought into the dep?t, is far more bulky than it afterwards becomes, and it shrinks nearly twelve per cent. after a few months' exposure to wind and rain; it is therefore necessary to unload each cart as it arrives from the town on to an enormous heap or[34] mound12, from the other end of which the measured heaps are made up after the material has become stale and sunken. Another cause for the shrinkage and reduction of bulk of house refuse after reception at the dep?t is the necessary removal of all the old tins, broken crockery, broken flower pots, &c., before it can be sold to the farmer, and a very difficult matter it is to know how to deal with this heterogeneous13 mass of absolutely useless articles thus left behind, unless they can be used for bottoming roads, or for agricultural or for deep land drainage, or for filling up hollows of land not afterwards intended to be built upon, when these materials would be very useful and acceptable for such purposes, otherwise they must be kept and allowed to cumber14 the ground until some such use can be assigned to them.
All towns are not so conveniently situated with regard to their surrounding neighbourhood, as will permit their authorities to sell the collected house refuse to farmers, market-gardeners, or others, for use as manure, and in such cases, where they cannot do so, other measures must be resorted to, in order to dispose of it in the most economical and sanitary manner.
Among the numerous questions that I addressed to the various towns of England when engaged in[35] preparing the returns to which reference has already been made, was one to the following effect:—"How is the refuse disposed of after collection?"
Many and various were the replies to this. Amongst them were the following:—
In many towns it is stated that the whole of the refuse is used by brick makers15, in others it is simply "tipped to waste." In one case the answer is, "Sold by auction16 twice a year," but to whom it is sold, and for what purpose, does not transpire17. In some towns it appears to be mixed with lime and used as manure upon the fields, and in others it is mixed with the sludge of the sewage farms, and is then ploughed or dug into the soil of the farm. This seems a better plan than that of another town, where it is "given or thrown away," although the difficulty of disposing of the old iron, tins, &c., is not touched upon in any of the foregoing answers. The next reply states that "it is riddled18, and the cinders19 and vegetable refuse are burnt to generate steam, the fine dust is used with the manure manufactory (tub system), the old iron is sold, and the pots, &c., used for the foundations of roads." In one case the whole of the refuse is taken out to sea in hopper barges21, and sunk in deep water. In a great number of towns it is sold by tender for the year, but what[36] eventually becomes of it does not transpire. But the most favoured methods, where it cannot be sold as manure to farmers, seem to be either that of carting it away to some spot outside the town, and there using it for the purpose of filling up hollows and depressions, or that of giving or selling it to brick-makers.
The practice of filling up hollow places with either house refuse or street sweepings22 cannot be too strongly deprecated, as it stands to reason that some object is in view when these hollows are thus filled up, and we may be sure that the object is that of transforming inconvenient24 and impracticable pieces of ground into convenient building sites, whereon, sooner or later, eligible25 villas26 make their sudden appearance, almost with the rapidity of Aladdin's Palace, under the magic hand of a jerry builder, and woe27 betide the unfortunate being who, struck with the pretentious28 appearance and low rent of one of these eligible family residences, takes up his abode29 therein, for so surely will disease, and perhaps death, be his visitor. I will not here enter into the details, or describe the medical reasons why such sites are unhealthy for dwelling-houses, as the fact is almost self-evident, and the practise of using either house refuse or street sweepings for such a purpose has[37] been condemned30 by sanitary experts over and over again. But I will pass on to describe a method of disposal of town refuse which is now gaining some popularity in localities where difficulties are experienced in getting rid of the refuse by any of the means to which reference has been made, and which up to the present time seems to be the best solution of the difficulty. I allude31 to the process of the destruction of the refuse by fire. With this object in view a Mr. Fryer has invented an apparatus32 which he styles a "Patent Carboniser, for the conversion33 of garbage, street, and market sweepings, also other vegetable refuse into charcoal34." This apparatus consists of a structure somewhat resembling, externally, a brick kiln35. It is divided into hopper-shaped compartments36, which at the bottom are furnished with a furnace, fitted with a reverbatory arch. A fire is lighted in this furnace, the necessary combustion37 being obtained, and the heat maintained, by burning the cinders, which are sifted38 out of the house refuse for this purpose.
All the street sweepings, refuse, garbage, &c., is then thrown in at the top of the kiln, and it is there and then completely destroyed by the action of the fire, and converted into charcoal, which is withdrawn39 through a sliding door fixed40 at the bottom of the[38] kiln. The inventor further contends that his Carboniser not only burns everything within it so thoroughly41 and completely as to produce effectual deodorisation, but also that in the process all noxious42 gases which may be driven off the burning organic matters contained in the refuse are themselves burnt and destroyed.
Mr. Fryer has also patented another apparatus which he calls a "Destructor for reducing the bulk for purifying and fusing mineral refuse of towns, the residue43 to be converted into concrete or mortar44." This apparatus is somewhat similar in construction and mode of action to the "Carboniser," except that it has no tall kiln containing the hopper-shaped compartments. Great heat is, however, necessary in order to fuse the mass of heterogeneous articles that are thrown into it, and its success is greatly dependant45 upon such heat being constantly and efficiently46 maintained. It is said that the cost of an establishment to dispose of the refuse by this means, consisting of one six celled Destructor and an eight-celled Carboniser, boiler47, steam engine, mortar pans, cooler, chimney, shaft48, and buildings, is about ￡4,500.
Each cell is stated to deal with about 50 cwt. of refuse in every twenty-four hours, and that no nuisance is experienced in the vicinity of the dep?ts.[39] This apparatus has, I understand, been adopted in Kralingen, Leeds, Blackburn, Bradford, Warrington, and Derby, and is about to be adopted in other important places.
It is not my intention here to describe or to discuss the question of the collection and disposal of night soil, which in many towns is intimately connected and amalgamated49 with the collection of house refuse and the cleansing50 of streets. It is a subject of sufficient importance to be dealt with separately. The following particulars, however, with reference to the collection of house refuse in connection with the pail system at Manchester will not be out of place, especially with regard to the reference which is made to Fryer's Carbonisers and Destructors, and it must be borne in mind that the refuse here spoken of is wet, which makes the difficulties connected with its destruction by fire greater than it would be if only dry, or comparatively dry, house refuse had to be destroyed. These particulars are gleaned52 from a report contained in a copy of the British Architect, of 1876, of a visit by the members of the Manchester Scientific and Mechanical Society to the works of the Manchester Corporation Health Committee, the figures being altered so as to conform more closely with the growth of the work since that year.
[40]
There are about 56,000 closets in Manchester, 44,000 of which have been constructed on the cinder20 sifter53 principle, and are emptied during the day, the remainder are emptied during the night.
The contents of the new closets are brought away by vans specially51 constructed for the purpose, having five compartments, one of which is open and uncovered, and this receives the dry refuse; the other four compartments are covered and enclosed with tightly fitting doors. Each of these compartments holds six galvanised iron pails, which are also covered with closely fitting lids. The van bottoms are panelled, and the inside of each panel is filled with a layer of carbolic acid powder, one inch thick, and they are thoroughly cleansed54 after each journey.
The Health Committee employ 100 of these vehicles, each one making four journeys per day. The contents of the closets which are emptied during the night are taken away in open carts, two-thirds to the tips and the remainder along with the refuse brought into the yard by the vans, is sent each night into the country.
The amount of material dealt with each week by the Health Committee is about 3,000 tons, and may be described as follows:—Paper, 1 ton; rags, 3 tons; dead animals, dogs, cats, rats, mice, guinea pigs, &c.,[41] 2 tons; stable manure, 17 tons; meat tins, old tin and iron, 33 tons; refuse from slaughter-houses and fish shops, &c., 60 tons; broken pots, bottles, and glasses, 80 tons; vegetable refuse, door mats, table covers, floorcloths, old straw mattresses55, 100 tons; fine ashes, 1,230 tons; cinders, 1,400 tons.
The Committee employ in this department over 500 men, including clerks, inspectors56, wheelwrights, smiths, saddlers, tinmen, engineers, mechanics, manure and mortar makers, stablemen, and labourers. They have 156 horses, and about the same number of vehicles of various descriptions.
When the loaded vans reach the yard, they are first weighed, afterwards they are taken on to the first floor of a two-storey building, where the dry refuse from the open part of each van is unloaded and shovelled57 on to sieves58 worked by steam power. By this arrangement the fine dust widely diffusing59 itself in its descent, falls on to the floor below, covering the contents of the pails, which are, at the same time, being emptied on to grids60 fixed in the floor. At one end of these grids the bars are set much more closely together than at the other, and serve to convey the liquid portion of the contents of the pails by means of troughs to a tank where it is further dealt with. The solid portion of the excreta[42] falls through the wide-barred portion of the grid61 into suitable receptacles. The rough portion of the dry refuse, after being separated from the fine, is carried along a movable and endless table to the mortar mills, the boiler, or to one of the various furnaces, of which there are several in the yard. This dry refuse is of such a heterogeneous character as to require various modes of treatment. It is made up of paper, rats, meat tins, straw, cabbage leaves, onions, apples, turnips62, fish bones, dead cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, fowls63, brush heads, old boots, old books, knives, forks, spoons, children's toys, old hats, old bonnets64, crinoline wires, umbrella frames, broken pots, broken bottles, preserve jars, medicine bottles, old mattresses, cinders, bits of coal, firewood, bass65, broken bricks, and a host of other articles too numerous to mention. When this mass of rubbish is somewhat assorted66, the cinders are separated and used for fuel for the boilers67 and furnaces (no coal whatever is allowed in the yard), the remaining portion of the rubbish along with some most vile68 and abominable69 matter which occasionally comes to the yard in the pails, is taken to the Carbonisers (of which there is a nest of eight in the yard), and the obnoxious70 material is therein carbonised and is resolved into a perfectly71 harmless material.
[43]
In another part of the yard is a second set of furnaces which are called destructors, and are used for the purpose of destroying rubbish, which before-time, for many years past, has been deposited in large heaps in every suburb of the city, to the great annoyance72 of the inhabitants whose fate it was to live in the vicinities of these deposits. These destructors not only consume this objectionable material, but they furnish heat to a concretor which is placed in close contiguity73. The spent fuel is carted to the mills, and is there converted into mortar—a mortar, too, of the best description—as the samples of brickwork built with it and exhibited abundantly testify. This concretor, which is driven by steam power, is a large cylinder74 of a peculiar75 internal construction, which exposes an extensive evaporating surface to the heat from the destructor, which passes through the cylinder from end to end. The work of this concretor is to subject the urine or liquid portion of the contents of the pails fed by means of the troughs already spoken of in connection with the tank. The urine is pumped from this tank into the concretor at the rate of about 150 gallons per hour. The concentrated urine, which contains a large quantity of ammonia, is mixed with two-thirds its weight of charcoal, and the composition forms a most valuable manure.
[44]
The carboniser, the destructor, and the concretor have all been invented and patented by Mr. Alfred Fryer, of the firm of Manlove, Alliot & Co., engineers, Nottingham. The process of carbonising is patented by the Universal Charcoal Company, Limited, who are to receive a royalty76, we understand, from the Health Committee for the use of their patent. There is a tall and noble-looking chimney in the centre of the yard surrounded by many new buildings and sheds, and this has been built with the concrete mortar manufactured by the Health Committee.
Such is the gigantic scale upon which these matters are dealt with in the City of Manchester.
The other methods, to which reference has been made, for the disposal of town refuse require no further comment, as it is evident that unless a ready sale for the refuse can be effected, by far the best method of disposing of it seems to be that by which it is completely annihilated77 by fire in the manner that has been described, or in some other similar manner.
Having thus far followed the house refuse from its first appearance in its cradle, the dustbin, through its chequered career after collection down to its decease, either by burial, or by cremation78, the question of the cost of the whole of this work must be deferred79 until the final chapter, after I have dealt[45] with the subject of street sweeping23 and cleansing, the removal of snow, and a short chapter upon street watering, which is somewhat analagous to scavenging, and is frequently included in the accounts of that work in the estimates which are prepared by a Local Authority.
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1
sanitary
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| adj.卫生方面的，卫生的，清洁的，卫生的 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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manure
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| n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥 | |
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fertilizing
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| v.施肥( fertilize的现在分词 ) | |
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prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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heterogeneous
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| adj.庞杂的；异类的 | |
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cumber
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| v.拖累，妨碍；n.妨害；拖累 | |
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15
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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transpire
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| v.(使)蒸发，(使)排出 ；泄露，公开 | |
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riddled
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| adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式) | |
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cinders
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| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
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cinder
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| n.余烬，矿渣 | |
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barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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sweepings
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| n.笼统的( sweeping的名词复数 )；（在投票等中的）大胜；影响广泛的；包罗万象的 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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villas
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| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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pretentious
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| adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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kiln
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| n.（砖、石灰等）窑，炉；v.烧窑 | |
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compartments
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| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
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combustion
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| n.燃烧；氧化；骚动 | |
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sifted
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| v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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residue
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| n.残余，剩余，残渣 | |
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mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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dependant
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| n.依靠的，依赖的，依赖他人生活者 | |
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efficiently
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| adv.高效率地，有能力地 | |
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boiler
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| n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等) | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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49
amalgamated
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| v.（使）（金属）汞齐化( amalgamate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）合并；联合；结合 | |
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cleansing
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| n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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52
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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53
sifter
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| n.（用于筛撒粉状食物的）筛具，撒粉器；滤器；罗圈；罗 | |
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cleansed
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| 弄干净，清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mattresses
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| 褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 ) | |
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inspectors
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| n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官 | |
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57
shovelled
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| v.铲子( shovel的过去式和过去分词 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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sieves
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| 筛，漏勺( sieve的名词复数 ) | |
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diffusing
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| （使光）模糊，漫射，漫散( diffuse的现在分词 )； （使）扩散； （使）弥漫； （使）传播 | |
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grids
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| n.格子( grid的名词复数 )；地图上的坐标方格；（输电线路、天然气管道等的）系统网络；（汽车比赛）赛车起跑线 | |
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grid
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| n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅 | |
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62
turnips
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| 芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表 | |
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63
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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64
bonnets
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| n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 )；（烟囱等的）覆盖物；（苏格兰男子的）无边呢帽；（女子戴的）任何一种帽子 | |
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65
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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66
assorted
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| adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的 | |
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67
boilers
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| 锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 ) | |
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68
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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70
obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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71
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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72
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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73
contiguity
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| n.邻近，接壤 | |
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74
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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76
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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77
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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78
cremation
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| n.火葬，火化 | |
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deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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