Dirty Dustbins and Sloppy Streets / A Practical Treatise on the Scavenging and Cleansing of Cities and Towns

by H. Percy Boulnois

The estimate will consequently stand thus:—

Specimen Estimate of the cost per annum involved by any Urban Sanitary Authority of a town of 35,000 inhabitants, in executing the work of collection of house refuse and the cleansing of streets, with their own staff of men and horses and carts.

					Annual Cost.
					£	s.	d.
Capital	borrowed	£1,500, yearly interest at 4½ per cent			67	10	0
Do.	do.	for 8 horses at £50	£400
Do.	do.	for 7 carts at £18	£126
Do.	do.	for 7 sets of harness
		at £7	£49
			——
			£575	at 4½ per cent.	25	17	6
Repairs to buildings, machinery, &c.					50	0	0
Depreciation of horse flesh, say					50	0	0
Do.	of 7 carts, costing £126, at 12 per cent.				15	2	2
Do.	of 7 sets of harness, costing £49, at 15 per cent.				7	7	0
Wages	of 7 carters at 16s. each per week				291	4	0
Do.	of 7 scavengers at do. do.				291	4	0
Do.	of 7 sweepers of roads at do. do.				291	4	0
Do.	of 1 foreman at 21s. per week				54	12	0
Do.	of 1 stablekeeper at 18s. do.				46	16	0
Keep, &c., of 8 horses at 17s. per week each					353	12	0
					——————
	Total estimated cost				£1,544	8	11
					============

If the foregoing estimate is compared with the standard of one shilling per head of the population per annum, which I have fixed as a fair average cost of such work, it is found to be less by £205 than that of a town of 35,000 inhabitants, for this latter case amounts to £1,750, and nothing has been allowed for the possible sale of the house refuse thus collected, but, on the other hand, I have allowed nothing for any emergency, such as a very rainy season or a deep fall of snow.

If the horses and drivers had been hired the estimate might stand thus:—

	Annual Cost.
	£	s.	d.
Hire of 7 horses and drivers at 8s. per diem for six days a week	873	12	0
Hire of 4 horses and drivers on Sunday, half-a-day each	41	12	0
Foreman to superintend (no free house rent as in former case)	65	0	0
Wages of scavengers as before	291	4	0
Do. of sweepers do.	291	4	0
	——————
	£1,562	12	0
	============

This shows that the cost of hiring would be slightly in excess of that of keeping a stud of horses, and when we consider the unquestionable benefit to be derived by adopting this method, I think most Urban Authorities who are now hiring their team labour would do well to consider the question of purchasing and keeping their own stud.

Great care, however, would have to be exercised in the supervision, or the expenditure would speedily increase, as in all stable establishments without such supervision, grave abuses, and even fraud, may go undetected for a considerable period.

The figures that I have given in my estimates must not be criticised, for they are not intended to fix the value of such work, but simply to act as a guide to anyone interested in making an estimate of the kind, in which case prices more in accordance with the district could be inserted.