A New Means for Speedy Refuse Collection
Page 45
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THE collection and disposal of refuse in Paris is, like other municipal services in the city, carried out on the contract system. and of the four concerns dealing with this work, the most important is the Societe Industrielle de Transports Automobiles, known as the S.I.T.A. This Company operates over 500 Schneider 7-ton tipping lorrieS.
They have, for the most part, been in service since about 1922, the average annual mileage per vehicle being only some 3,000. They have been splendidly maintained, so that, whilst the city council wishes to modernize its methods of refuse collection, the contractor is loth to -abandon serviceable vehicles. The bodies are of steel and are provided with sectional sliding covers.
With the object, however, of effecting economies and obtaining an easier and more hygienic method of loading, M, Rey, engineer-in-chief of the S.I.T.A. concern, has evolved an entirely new form of self-loading body. For the moment, the company is retaining its existing rolling stock, but the old Schneider chassis are being reduced in ler gth by 2 ft.
The body consists of an enclosed box with cable-operated tipping gear. At the rear is a small exterior hopper, into which dustbins are emptied. The sides of this hopper are much lower than those of the ordinary lorry, and dustbins can easily be emptied into it from street level, At the bottom of the hopper is a flat steel plate, moving continually backwards and forwards under the influence of an hydraulic ram. Refuse falling on this plate is pushed forwards through a slot, into the container body of the vehicle.
The Paris Council anticipates an annual saving in the neighbourhood of 2,000,000 francs with the aid of the new machines. This economy is to be obtained without any loss to the contractor, although the concern is shouldering the expense of transforming its lorries. "
In company with M. Rey, our Paris representative made an early morning tour of the city to observe the new machines in operation. The system works with remarkable ease and rapidity.
As the refuse deposited in the hopper is foreed into the Container body by the hydraulic ram, it takes the line of least resistance; that is to say, it travels upwards over the surface of the material already within the body. A compressing action results as fresh refuse enters and, climbing slowly over the rest of the material, crushes it into a compact mass. This process continues until the body is completely filled. The rapidity of collection and the greater load capacity result in one lorry doing the work of three with the oldtype body, only one driver and two labourers being required, instead of three drivers and nine loaders. Other economies in operating costs are obvious. . The remuneration which the S.I.T.A. receives from the city council is paid in three forms ; first, a regular annual sum in respect of depreciation on plant, material and buildings ; secondly, a daily subsidy representing wages, insurance, etc.; and, thirdly, a figure per kilom., covering fuel, lubricants and general upkeep, including profits. In view of the success already obtained with the new vehicles, an entirely new contract is being drawn up between the council and the company.
From the mechanical standpoint, the most important feature of the new refuse collectors is that there are no moving parts within the box body. All the mechanism is outside, and, being placed at a low level, is instantly accessible. Oil pressure for the ram is, at present, obtained from an electrically driven pump, an extra-large engine, operated dynamo providing an adequate supply of current. This arrangement is, however, provisional and gearbox. drivers pumps are shortly to be fitted.
Steps are provided on each side of the loading hopper to accommodate the crew when the vehicle is travelling, whilst a curtain of stout leather strips prevents the scattering of refuse by the wind.
Arriving at the destructor, the back of the body, carrying with it the loading hopper, ram and mechanism, is swung right clear of the vehicle during tipping.
French patent rights for the new body are vested in the S.I.T.A., but for other countries they are available for exploitation. British patents have been granted and those interested should communicate with M. F. Rey, IS, Avenue de la Celle St. Cloud, Garches (Seine et Oise), France.