Millions from Waste

by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

An officer conceived an ingenious idea to persuade the cheese to go farther, and in such a manner as to eliminate all possibility of waste. A whole cheese was taken, thoroughly washed and cleaned. It was then placed in a mill with a quantity of dripping, the proportion being 60 per cent. of the former to 40 per cent. of the latter. The two constituents were then pulped and blended together.

The resultant product was distinctly surprising. The cheddar cheese was converted, by compounding with the animal fat, into a delicious cream-like article of the consistency of butter, allowing it to be spread upon bread and biscuits. The flavour was distinctly improved; indeed, the soldiers expressed a decided preference for this blended food. Its nutritive value cannot be gainsaid, because it carries all the virtues of the cheese plus those incidental to rich animal fat.

By this simple expedient all wastage of cheese was overcome. Even the rind, generally conceded to represent the richest part of the product, was used, being thoroughly disintegrated, macerated and blended with the dripping by passage through the little mill. Not only did the officer reduce the item for the consumption of cheese by his unit to a very significant degree, but he achieved the desired end without penalizing the men to the slightest degree.

The process is so simple that it might even be emulated to profit by the thrifty housewife. The kitchen mincing machine will suffice for the purpose. It is only necessary to pulp and to blend the two constituents thoroughly together. It certainly offers a means of inducing a pound of cheese to go as far as, if not farther than, a pound and a half has ever gone before.

In so far as the arrest of the elusive fat was concerned there remained only one other possible avenue of escape demanding interruption. This was the sink where all plates, dishes, and cooking utensils in general are washed. In the first effort to secure this contribution the hot water carrying the desired material was led into a pit. Here the fat collected in the form of a scum, which was skimmed off at intervals and sent to the swill mill for further treatment. But this crude method gave way to one more in consonance with modern ideas. The fat is now caught at the gully.

One device I saw installed to achieve this end was of an extremely simple character. It comprised a wooden box, about three feet in length by one foot in width, and about two feet in depth. It was subdivided into three cells by two partitions, which, however, did not extend to the full depth of the box. The pipe from the sink entered the box at one end while the outlet to the drain was placed at the opposite end. The box was filled with cold water, which need only be renewed when the box is emptied for cleaning and flushing, since normally it is kept charged with the water coming from the sink. The hot water bearing the fat circulates through the three cells and finally, upon reaching a certain level, passes into the drainage system.

But during its passage through the box the hot water becomes so effectively chilled as to be compelled to release any fat which it may be carrying. This congeals and rises to the surface. Within a short time the top of each cell is crusted with a thick layer of solid fat which may be removed as frequently as desired. The box not only constitutes an efficient and simple, as well as inexpensive, fat-trap, but also acts as a water seal to the sink, thus preventing all nuisance or fouling of the sink pipe.

The amount of fat capable of being retrieved in this manner is certainly startling. The fat-trap which I saw fitted to one of the sinks of an army cook-house yielded several pounds of fat every day—sheer waste recovered from washing plates, pots and pans. The fat is dispatched to the swill-mill to be passed through the melter and extractor in the usual manner, thereby undergoing thorough clarification and sterilization. The recovery during the course of the year of several thousand pounds of fat which otherwise would have vanished down the drain, by the introduction of a small wooden box such as I have described, represents no mean achievement. Certainly it serves to bring home the losses which are incurred at this point in every house during the twelve months. The device might profitably be installed at every sink by every householder. The few shillings involved by its provision would be quickly recouped, because the fat always has a market. Moreover, the introduction of this device would contribute towards the efficiency of the drain, keeping it clear and free to fulfil its designed function.

That it pays to recover all fats and greases lost to consumption or permitted to escape because it is merely residue is conclusively borne out by the results recorded in connection with the military operations which I have described. During the year 1917 the fats—waste—reclaimed from the Home Commands of the British Army yielded 13,000 tons of tallow. The value of all the by-products recovered from the refuse was £700,000—$3,500,000. The cost of securing this waste for commercial exploitation, including the extra pay extended in the form of bonus to the cooks, and other allowances, was £400,000—$2,000,000—leaving a balance of £300,000—$1,500,000—which was returned to the public.

As previously mentioned, the fats were urgently needed to furnish glycerine for the manufacture of munitions. One ton of crude fat yields 10 per cent. of glycerine, so that 1,300 tons of this indispensable article were derived from this one source of supply. The fat was sold to the bone-degreasers and the soap manufacturers, who effected the recovery of the glycerine, selling the product to the Ministry of Munitions at the agreed price of £59 10s. to £63—$297.50 to $315—per ton, as compared with £300—$1,500—per ton which we should have been compelled to pay had we bought the glycerine upon the open market.