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HOW WALLASEY DEALS WITH REFUSE.
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Page 127
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Six Electric Vehiclesand an SD. Freighter Cooperate with Horsed Vehicles. A Save-therates Theory Applied to Stern Facts.
IT seems paradoxical that the vehicles, self-propelled and horse-drawn, in the .service of the Wallesey Corporation cleansing department should brazen a slogan exhorting the ratepayers to deal with the household refuse In a way such that if the behest were obeyed there would be no need to operate a service of collecting units, nor incur costs varying between Ss. 10.7d. per ton in the case of electrics, and us. 1.4d. per ton with horses and carts. "Burn your refuse" —and save the load—is their message.
The County Borough of Wallasey is a growing residential area covering an acreage of 3,400, with a population of about 93,000. The number of inhabited houses in the borough is 21,242, and occupied shops 2,079. Although sometimes described as "the bedroom of Liverpool," Wallasey is becoming an increasingly popular holiday resort, and as with all other towns in this category, the tonnage of refuse collections during the summer months shows a marked increase when comparison is made with the winter period.
It is only since 1921 that the cleansing department has built up its existing fleet of Edison 21-ton end-tipping, dust-collecting wagons. The first delivery was in February, 1921, and, as further vehicles of the same type have been added, horse-drawn wagons have been displaced. At the time of writing there are five electric battery-driven lorries, one S.D. freighter and 17 horses and carts in service. The Town Council, at the May meeting, ratified the recommendation of the Health Committee to purchase a sixth Edison, by which it is computed, reckoning on an eight years' life, there will be an annual saving of f250 (2s. 3d. per ton) as against the cost of similar work being done by horsed carts.
• The bodies of the two Edison vehicles last delivered are constructed of steel with a cubic capacity of seven yards. These bodies are wider at the back than at the front so as to facilitate the operation of tipping at the destructor. Each body is in two sections. and roller blind shutters are fitted, so that when the vehicles are loaded up they may be closed to prevent the wind distributing dust from the vehicle. This is the alternative to sheeting the loads.
Each machine is equipped with' Edison batteries of a capacity of 300 ampere hours-60 cells—with a normal discharge rate of 64 a amperes, which appears to be ample.
The average mileage of each of these battery-driven wagons is about 25 per day, and with the exception of a dinner hour boost, the daily charge is adequate for this mileage. The type of battery referred to is guaranteed for eight years, and, so far, Wallasey Corpora
tion is satisfied with the results achieved. Charging operations are undertaken mainly at the Wallasey Corporation Electricity sub-station,
Roughly, 50 per cent, of the working day of each dust-collecting wagon is taken up in travelling to and from the scene of operations and tipping at the Gorsey Lane destructor, which is situated at the southern extremity of the borough. The collection districts in the immediate vicinity of the des tructor are worked entirely by horses and carts, all distances over 14 miles falling to the lot of the self-propelled vehicles, whose main spheres of employment are (1) New Brighton and part of Liscard; (2) part of Liscard and Wallasey ; and (3) Seacombe, Egres mont and part of Liscard. The longest journey th the destructor is that from New Brighton, which at the extreme point is about four miles distant.
The cleansing department works to what it calls the "block system." Thus one electric vehicle starts out first thing in the morning and is on the job by eight o'clock with a staff of eight men (including the driver). One man takes up his station inside the wagon and as bins are brought from residences gives them a quick clearance. It should be stated, by the way, that nearly all the houses in the borough of Wallasey are equipped with ashbins. There are "hardly any ashpits or middens. By the time the contents of about 130 bins have been deposited in the wagon, it will be ready to move off. That means that each man's work consists in contributing a quota of about 18 bins. So soon as this vehicle is cleared the collecting crew proceeds to an adjacent collecting area, and by nine o'clock a second vehicle from the destructor will be on the spot, having first of all made a call, such as delivering a load of mortar qr clinker, before taking up its station for the day.
This system of work is modified ae: cording to the locality. For instance, in some nearby districts, horses, carts and motor work an area together.
When the department obtains the delivery of its sixth electric, it is intended to dispose of four horsed carts. 1335
Refuse is cleared from all houses and shops in the borough once every week, but there is no separation of shop refuse from house refuse. Wagons in the service of the Wallasey Corporation cleansing department are kept strictly to the routine work of collection of refuse, with the exception of loads of mortar, etc., which they are able to deliver at their various districts without any interference with the regular schedule. Most of the general transport is undertaken by the horsed carts, but the self-propelled machines are frequently able, on return journeys, to work in loads of mortar or lime from railway sidings to works, etc.
The five electrics during the year ending March 31st, 1926, carried 9,473 tons of household refuse, all of which was delivered to the destructor, in addition to 994 tons of mortar delivered to the various building sites in the borough. The S.D. Freighter during the same period handled 557 tons of. household refuse and 350 tons of fish offal, besides carrying loads as follow Containers for the collection of fish offal, 194 tons ; inortar, 532 tons ; and clinker, 162 tons. The S.D. Freighter was purchased so recently as 1925, mainly for the reason that when fish offal was loaded into'the ordinary type of dust-collecting wagon it was difficult to eliminate the pungent smell, which caused annoyance to pedestrians and others. .The main function of the S.D. Freighter is to pay a complete round of calls on all wet fish and fried fish shopsin the borough, to collect offal and waste, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The Corporation supplies hermetically sealed tins for the reception of this waste, and empty bins are left in exchange for the loaded ones as they are cleared. About 24 bins loaded with offal constitute a full load for the Freighter, and every load weighs approximately 20 to 25 cwt. Incidentally, the treatment of fish offal and its conversion into manure is a by-product industry at the destructor, and revenue on ;this account alone accounts for about i760 -per annum.
When not collecting fish offal • the S.D. Freighter is employed on the collection of refuse and miscellaneous ' transport -Work of the• department.
Each electric vehicle makes forr complete journeys per day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, and the average weight of refuse per bin is about 40 lb. Thus, the number of collections per day by the five electric vehicles is about 2,600. The S.D.
Freighter on the collection of fish offal makes three complete journeys per day excepting Wednesday, when the shops close at one o'clock. The remainder of its working time is occupied by miscellaneous transport. The tonnage dealt with by the Wallasey Corporation cleansing department transport during the past year has been very conveniently summarized in Table I.
Table II is, a summary of the number of loads and average weight per load of house and shop refuse (excluding fish offal, school clinker and camp refuse) brought to the works by the Department's vehicles during the " light" and " heavy " periods, of the year.
The tonnage costs for the collection and disposal of the refuse during PIG ran a total of 5,059 miles, and the cost per mile was is. ld., including driver's wages, petrol, oil and maintenance. The average mileage obtained per gallon of petrol was 8.22.
Reckoning that 23,631 tons of refuse was actually collected, this gives 18.3 cwt. per 1,000 of population per working day ; 5.1 cwt, per person per annum ; 1.5 lb. per person per day. The total charge on the rates for collection and disposal of refuse was 6.37d. in the pound—collection being 4.49d., and disposal 1.88d. The actual cost per house per annum was 16s. Sd.; cost per house per week, 3.83d.; cost per person per annum, 3s. 10.4d.; cost per person per week, .886.
Such figures as these form a most interesting analysis of the whole cost and give some idea of the work which can be performed by electric vehicles when these are employed in an efficient manner. The cost per ton is very low as compared with that in many
other parts of the country. For instance, the cost per ton in some parts of London is approximately £1.
Last October the cleansing department organized a campaign. to impress upon the public the need to economize in the demands on the refuse-collection system. What success was achieved is obvious from the summary of refuse collections, based on daily average tonnage shown in Table IV.
The Corporation cleansing department undertakes all its own repairs.