Bagged Refuse Experiment in Manchester
Page 62
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APILOT scheme with the object of assessing costs and potentialities of paper sack refuse collection is being operated by the Manchester Corporation Cleansing Department. The system, which was instituted four months ago, is being applied to over 2,500 dwellings of varied types in the Brooklands area of Wythenshawe.
For this purpose a l6-I8-cu.-yd. foreand-aft tipper was selected. The crew consists of a driver and two loaders so, since a double cab is provided, the rear passenger accommodation can be used to carry the day's supply of replenishment sacks.
When collections commence a number of sacks are placed ready in a bracket at the rear of the vehicle, each loader taking two or three as he goes to the house. At
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the outset shoulder slings were provided for the purpose but they do not appear to have found favour with the men. The loader unclips the clamping arms on the sack stand, so permitting the full sack to fall free, and then puts a replacement between the lid and hoop ready for the householder to attach, Where more than one sack is awaiting collection the equivalent number of new are left, The normal load for the vehicle used has been shown to be about 125 sacks.
The Advantages
An interim report by the city's Director of Public Cleansing, Mr, R. F. Bevan, includes among the advantages the reduction in weight to be lifted, the .reduction in walking time consequent upon there being only a single journey, the achievement of dustless loading without expensive bins or Vehicles, the• reduction in noise, and improvement in working conditions for the staff.
Difficulty has occurred in some cases
through dogs and rodents, attracted by food wastes, damaging the sacks; to overcome this trouble some wire guards have been supplied. Less easy to circumvent is damage by hooligans which has taken place in certain districts. Trouble has developed as a result of hot ashes being placed in the sacks but this, of course, can cause difficulty with bins and even result in fires on collection vehicles' or on tips. Study is being given to the possibility of injury to loaders, or perhaps to playing children, as a result of coming in contaet with sacks containing sharp objects hidden by the paper.
Figures that were extracted earlier in the experiment show that collection costs per household per annum with sacks would stand at £1 7s. against LI 18s. 5d. for bins. However, when maintenance and sack supplies are taken into account the respective figures rise to £2 1 Is. 2d. and £2 3s. 2d.. making weekly costs with sacks 11.81d. as compared with 9.96d. for bins.