These temporary receptacles are, as may be easily imagined of various sizes and shapes, and are composed of various materials. On one side you may see a well and suitably constructed galvanized iron box, with handles and cover complete, on the other an old band box, cigar box, or tin saucepan.
The result of these inappropriate receptacles filled with heterogeneous collections of house refuse being left unprotected in the public streets, is that their contents are quickly strewn about the surface of the street, either by their being upset accidentally, or purposely, by persons who gain a precarious livelihood by abstracting therefrom, and selling rags, bones, and similar articles, or by the dogs, ever on the alert for a hasty and disgusting meal, and the appearance of the street which has probably been carefully swept and garnished during the night or early in the morning, quickly assumes, especially in a high wind, a very offensive character, and probably has to be entirely re-swept and cleansed before the ordinary traffic of the day commences.
To obviate these evils arising from this practice almost universally adopted, I suggest the following plan:—
A specially designed frame or carriage must be constructed somewhat similar in appearance to a timber waggon; this must be furnished with a number of strong iron hooks, with or without simple lifting gear, according to the strength and sizes of the receptacles hereafter described. Upon these hooks are to be hung cylindrical shaped galvanized iron boxes with balanced covers, and hopper-shaped mouths, and of such cubical capacity as may be found to meet the requirements of any district choosing to adopt my system. The modus operandi would be as follows:—The waggon should be drawn through certain selected streets at about 6.30 a.m.; the boxes or cylinders unhung from it, and placed in such suitable and convenient positions as may be found necessary; their distance apart may be about that of the ordinary street lamp posts, and their position may be in the street channel gutter close to the kerb of the footpath; they should be allowed to remain about a couple of hours, during which time the householders in the vicinity of the boxes would be expected to empty into them all the sweepings, garbage, and house refuse from their premises; at the end of this time the waggon would again appear, and the boxes or cylinders would be attached to the hooks, and be taken to the nearest refuse depôt.
There are many advantages to be gained by adopting my proposed system, the principal one being that of preventing the disgusting practice of allowing the foul refuse from houses, to be openly displayed in the public streets, in the manner previously described, and in preventing the possibility of such refuse being allowed to stay for a single instant upon the surface of the street, where even if it is afterwards carefully removed, an ugly stain is almost sure to remain for many hours afterwards.
Another advantage would be the great convenience to householders of that of having a ready receptacle for their refuse, only a few yards at the most from their doors.
The saving of time also in the collection would be considerable, as the scavengers need not wait one single moment beyond the time required to attach the cylinder to the waggon, and there is in addition the cleanliness with which this operation could be performed, thus conferring a great boon on the foot passengers in the streets, who, under the present system, are often half smothered by the dust when the scavengers are engaged in emptying the contents of the usual inappropriate receptacles into the ordinary dust cart.
The facilities also for cleansing or disinfecting the cylinders would be undoubted, and the economy, not only in time but in actual expense over the existing system, would be considerable, for the cylinders would last a long time without repairs being needed; not so the ordinary dust cart, which speedily wears out, principally from the fact that the "tipping" necessary to empty it of its contents, is highly detrimental to its stability.
Having thus shown a method by which the collection of house refuse in crowded streets, where a house-to-house visit is impracticable, can be materially improved, I will pass on to the present system of the collection of refuse in the suburban and rural districts of a town by a house-to-house call.
A great improvement in this system would no doubt be effected by adopting the movable dust boxes I suggest in the chapter on "The Dustbin," as great delay and consequent expense would be saved thereby, and the work would be altogether more effectually and properly performed, but it is also found that very frequently the scavengers on calling at a house for the purpose of removing the accumulated refuse, are told by the servant that they cannot be admitted, either because it is an inconvenient hour, or that it is washing day, or that being a wet day the scavengers' boots are too dirty to walk over their clean passages or floor, or that the dustbin is not full, and that they must call another day, or some other equally plausible excuse, so that the visit is a useless one, and time is lost. Another evil arising out of this is also the fact that as the scavenger's cart has usually a regular round, a fruitless visit as described, results in the dustbin remaining uncleared for perhaps another week, or even more, a state of things not at all to be desired.