Millions from Waste

by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

About this time a grave problem asserted itself in another field of military activity. The Ministry of Munitions had decided to speed-up the output of explosives, but such acceleration was threatened by a shortage of the indispensable constituent, glycerine. It was not a question of the facilities for the production of this essential being insufficient to cope with the demand because ample plant was available. The difficulty was the dearth of animal fat which yields the basic material in question. Soap manufacturers were also being hard-pressed for similar fats to conduct their operations. As a result of the depressing outlook the price of glycerine commenced to advance upon the market at a disconcerting rate.

The military authorities, cognizant of the huge quantities of animal fat reclaimable from the swill-tubs throughout the service, recognized the opportunity to ease the crisis to an appreciable degree. The segregation, collection, and surrender of this potential raw material to the industry concerned were merely matters of organization. It was promptly realized that if the issue were left for adjustment to the interests generally identified with such enterprises, and in which the itinerant rag-and-bone merchant and marine store dealer figure prominently, confusion would ensue, conducing to further disturbance of prices.

To achieve the desired efficiency the authorities invited the trade, comprising the soap-makers and the bone degreasers, to discuss the question. The authorities succinctly narrated what they could do towards the solution of the problem. The trade was agreeably surprised by the facts and figures which were set before them, and was quick to appreciate that here indeed was a new and unexpectedly rich mine of raw material to be advantageously tapped. The Ministry of Munitions, also represented at the conference, announced its preparedness to extend a willing hand. It would take over all the glycerine derived from fats procured from military sources at a fixed price. This was mutually settled at £59 10s.—$297.50—per ton, and it was agreed that the figure should remain relatively firm irrespective of market fluctuations. It must be conceded that the Ministry drove an astute bargain, because at the time glycerine was commanding £300—$1,500—per ton upon the open market, which sum the country would have been compelled to pay had the military sources of supply not been available.

The trade acquiesced and formed a committee including officers nominated by the War Office to complete all negotiations and transactions. Private buyers were nominated to cover the whole country and a flat rate for the purchase of all fats from military sources was decided. By this simple arrangement every unit throughout these islands, no matter how remote its situation, was assured of a definite market for its fats and bones. Moreover, these units were given strict instructions to sell their produce only to the trade representative at the price decided, notwithstanding that other would-be buyers might proffer a higher quotation.

So far as the army was concerned the remunerative market for all waste in the form of fats and bones being established, it now became necessary to whip up the contributions of these residues to the uttermost ounce. A whirl-wind campaign was conducted throughout the whole of the Home Commands to demonstrate how this end might be consummated. Officers of the department concerned visited the various camps. It was calmly but firmly impressed upon the local responsible officers that they must resort to every artifice to trap fats and bones during their devious journeys, so that nothing might escape. There were heart-to-heart chats with the cooks, who, their imagination fired and enthusiasm kindled, promised to leave no stone unturned to satisfy the authorities in this direction.

Only one danger was to be apprehended as a result of this campaign of enlightenment. In their zest to save the fat the autocrats of the kitchens and others might unconsciously deprive the soldier of his proportion of this food so essential to the maintenance of a high standard of health. Accordingly, while one and all were urged to keep a tight grip upon the waste, they were instructed to allow the fighting man to eat just as much fat as he fancied: indeed his consumption of the highly nutritive dripping was to be specifically encouraged because, in this manner, it would become possible to release increased quantities of butter and margarine to the civil population. Holding the scales evenly between the soldier and the cook-house on the one hand, and between the troops and the civilians on the other, proved to be one of the most intricate and delicate problems associated with this waste-saving campaign.

To secure the fullest co-operation of the cooks the Army Council agreed to the extension of a specially attractive inducement. An extra daily financial allowance was sanctioned on the basis of the more fat the cooks saved and turned over to the making of munitions the better they would be off in pocket. This allocation, however, was not to become a charge upon the public purse. It was insisted that it should be defrayed from the sum realized by a unit in the disposal of its waste fats and bones, while the balance was to be devoted wholly to the provision of kitchen utensils and other amenities. The units alone were to benefit from the practise of economy and obviation of all waste.

The consummation of this arrangement led to one or two amusing sequels which, it is to be feared, had scarcely been anticipated. Naturally every camp became uncannily keen to derive the utmost profit from this phase of permissible trading, and a certain rivalry developed between the various units to score top marks.

There was one camp, composed of men drawn from units scattered all over the country, undergoing musketry training. The men became affected with the “save your bones” craze to an acute degree. As a result of his periodical investigation the commanding officer suddenly discovered that he was getting all the fat he wanted. But the bones! That was a different story: the yield was by no means what it should have been. The startling discrepancy prompted inquiry, and the officer found that the soldiers were more fully alive to the real significance of the swill-tub than he had imagined. But they were more loyal to their own units than to the musketry camp to which their attachment was only temporary. They were waging a quiet campaign among themselves, collecting all the bones upon which they could place their hands, and determined that their colleagues should derive all the benefits accruing from the sale of this waste were posting their bone-hauls back to their own units!

Another instance of similar zeal was even more humorous. A certain Imperial unit was camped next door to some troops from Overseas. The “save-your-fat-and-bones” scheme was carefully explained to the latter, but having come from a land where meat was plentiful they failed to see the object of being so vigilant and miserly in regard to the residue in question. The authorities, realizing the situation, refrained from further pursuit of their proposal, being content to allow what they had already expressed to sink into the minds of the soldiers, confident that, upon reflection, the Overseas unit would appreciate the wisdom of the official recommendation.