The expected happened. The men from Yonder Britain in the end did conclude that there was something in this waste-saving stunt, and that they might profit from following the general practice. They commenced to indulge in bone-collecting and hoarding with rare gusto. No school-boy ever collected postage-stamps more keenly than did those fighting men from Farther Britain save bones and fat.
This outburst of zealous economy delighted the authorities. They saw the yields from the camp of the Overseas fighting men rising by leaps and bounds. But there was a decrease in the bone-yield from the Home unit next door! The supply officer, feeling that something must be amiss, and that possibly the Overseas troops were receiving an inordinate quantity of bone in the issue to stimulate collecting, dived into the mystery. It did not prove to be a very baffling quest. The Overseas unit was able to show a high yield of bones because it was indulging in surreptitious nocturnal raids, at opportune moments, upon the bone-stocks of its neighbours!
As the scheme was brought into wider and wider application it was found that the exploitation of the actual swill-tub might be conducted to still greater advantage. Hitherto the task had been the redemption of the bones and waste fat before it reached the actual garbage barrel. But to turn the actual contents of the swill-tub properly so-called to economic account it was seen that certain plant would have to be installed, although investigation revealed that such appliances need neither be elaborate nor expensive. The suggestion was thoroughly ventilated, and as a result it was decided to approach the authorities with a proposal which was decidedly novel and which was certainly unprecedented.
Convincing facts and figures were obtained to indicate what the probable yield from this latest endeavour to turn military waste to profitable account would be. These estimates took into consideration the expenditure incurred by the acquisition and operation of the plant adopted. The proposed outlay was not heavy, but it was felt by those who had elaborated this latest scheme that to request the authorities to incorporate it as part and parcel of existing military routine would defeat the primary principle underlying the idea. It was felt that, if the enterprise could be rendered profitable under military conditions, it might lead to its practical application by the civil community. The impression obtained that the few thousand pounds capital expenditure which would have to be incurred, together with the revenue, would be lost among the maze of millions sterling incidental to current military expenditure, even if it did not suffer actual inclusion, from its comparative triviality, among “sundry expenses.” In this event all the lessons to be derived therefrom would be lost. On the other hand if the enterprise could be kept separate and could be conducted, as desired, along accepted commercial lines, success would impress the civilian, and might assist in persuading the municipal and other authorities to do likewise with the similar raw materials available in plenty from domestic sources of supply.
Thereupon it was suggested that the War Office should sanction the formation of a limited liability company to handle this latest exploitation of the actual swill along orthodox business lines. To allay any suspicions of private interests profiteering at the expense of the tax-payer it was recommended that the whole of the capital should be subscribed, and held, by the authorities, who should also be invested with the power to appoint the directors, and who should hold office at the pleasure of the War Office.
The novelty of the proposal was conceded, but the promoters were so sanguine of achieving success that the requisite sanction was extended. Thereupon a company was duly registered at Somerset House in due compliance with the law, with its articles of association complete in every respect, under the title “Army Waste Products, Limited,” with a nominal capital of 7s. ($1.75)! That company proved an overwhelming successful venture from the country’s point of view. Its results conclusively demonstrated the fact that there are literally millions in waste.
Small plants were established in military camps in several parts of the country, and subsequently the system was extended to the army in France, while the American Expeditionary Force, impressed with its achievements, embraced the scheme and the plants employed. Operations were not confined to the treatment of the despised contents of the swill-tub, but also to the recovery of waste gravy and fats from the plates, the reclamation of breadcrumbs from the table, sweepings from the bakery and stores, and of odd crusts which heretofore had found no application other than as food for the wild birds, as well as the treatment of bones before they were handed over to the degreasers.
A policy of rigid commercialism was introduced and sedulously followed. The contents of the swill-tubs, as well as all other waste described above, were purchased, the prevailing prices being paid so that other commercial concerns were denied the opportunity of preferring the charge of unfair trading. Items of rental, wages, as well as maintenance, depreciation and capitalization charges were also taken fully into account, while the resultant products were also sold at market prices, which, as subsequent results revealed, left an ample margin of profit.
The plant employed, as well as the procedure followed in reclaiming and working the wastes up into raw material for industrial uses, possesses many interesting features, and are fully described in the next chapter.