House Treatment
Many cities require that garbage be drained and some that it be wrapped in paper as well as drained. Wrapping aids combustion when the disposal is by incineration. Wheeling, West Virginia, claims that wrapping garbage eliminates smell, preserves can, provides fuel and makes work much less unpleasant for the collector. Dr. P. M. Hall and Samuel A. Greeley advocate wrapping if garbage is burned. Seven cities, of those from which statistics have been received, require that garbage be wrapped—Dunkirk, Jamestown, Mount Vernon, Trenton, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids and Minneapolis.
Organization
It is agreed that the number and location of districts into which a city is divided must depend upon the size, topography and population, the location of sub-stations or the place of final disposal, the frequency of collection and the hauling equipment. It is also agreed that the divisions should be made with the purpose of shortening the haul as much as possible and to avoid steep grades with loaded wagons. Some cities haul direct from the district to the place of disposal, others establish loading stations or bunkers to which the garbage is hauled in wagons and from which it is taken for disposal in automobiles, train or trolley. Still others have loaded wagons taken to a central place and from there hauled by tractors to the place of disposal.
The type of equipment, system of collection, organization of city, location of receptacles, frequency of collection and hours of removal must be considered when organizing the force. These vitally affect the cost. Some cities require one man to act as driver and collector. This system is regarded as uneconomical as the whole collection is retarded. Other cities have two men with a wagon, one to drive and the other to collect. In some cities the gang system, described in the chapter on ash collection, is used.
The Chicago Waste Commission makes these recommendations to insure an effective organization:
1. Individual responsibility for work assigned.
2. Employees should be paid for work performed instead of for hours of labor.
3. Published records of employees individually by sections under foremen and by districts under inspectors or superintendents will create a healthy rivalry and conduce to better work.
4. Unit cost of all work should be maintained and the keeping of these records will more than pay for the cost of the clerical work involved.