The times., 1897-05-30
RUBBISH IN THE STREETS
Col. Warnings New System in
New York.
REFUSE TO BE ASSORTED
He Thinks Much Money Can Be
Saved to the City-Dirt Heaps Not !
Allowed to Lie in the street, But
swept Into Bags and Thus Left
for the Collection Carts.

Apropos or The agitation in our city con-
celning street cleaning. il is OF interest Il.
note the system OF asserting rubbish in-
troduced in New York by Col Wariug.
whose methods of this branch OF publi.
sanitation have metanorphosed the great
city. Col Waring says:
suppose that for every family of ten per
sons ia New York there is 5 cents worth
OF rubbish thrown away every day-thatis,
material that is commonly counted as Of no
value. That would be half q cent n persou.
which seems to me a moderate estiruat,.
wien we think Of the clothes and papers
and corks and bottles and shoes and nuIner-
Gus otherthings that are cast aside as worth.
less Now. suppose the city takes all this
stuff and assorts il and then dispcses of il.
and it amounts to as much as I have s,lg-
gested for eaci family. the annual Income
FROM this source would be 3.75O 900. or
enough - pay the entire cost of the street
cleaning department and the cost OF sprinl,-
ling the streets.
This is an estimate OILY, and do not
meaa to say that such result is likely to be
had. But supposing that I have put th.,
figure tea times TOO high, and that the waste
Of each inhabitantis one-tw entieth Of cent
a day, there would skill be an income to tht.
city OF nearly 100000. and that is sosne-
thing
In accordance with the idea set forth 5y
Col Wariug. the Street-cIeaning depart
DIeBt is about TO carry out a plan OF assort-
ing the refuse Of the city other than ashes
and garbage and picking out all ti.at Will
prove OF value. hide the rest is erefnatssl
The apparatus for this purpose is being
constructed in Eighteenth street, east oi
Avenue B. The featIre OF the establish
nent Will be an endless belt about fffty
feet long and four feet wide, on. which
the refuse will be dEmptd The belt VIII
travel slowly along, and men standing on
either side will pick out everything hav-
ing salable value, while the rest will Id
carried on and cast into a furnace Ths
plant in Eighteenth street is being erected
by the city, and the profits will not accrus
to any contractor. IL is expected that il
will be ready for use j u about month
By Commissioner Warnings regulations
three reeeptaeles must be pTOvidetf--on,. for
garbage. one-for ashes and one for pape r.
The three words, however. are used gen
erIcaiiy. and the cards distributed by tho
street-cleaning department explain what
may be olassed under eaCh head.
Garbage Includes all vegetable matter.
sauce bottles and tin cans; other bottles
than catsup and sauce bottles. and other
cans than those which have contained
fruit. meats and vegetables. should be put
IN the paper barr-i tne receptacle for
ashes" may be put sa wdust. broken crock
cry, floor and street sweepings, grass
oyster and clam shells and tobacco stems.
Paper too, is an elastic tern. in the
street-cIeaniDg vocabulary. for il includes
bottles and tin-cans texcept as already
mentioBesil. broken bottles, broken glass
rags. excelsior, straw. mattresses, o.d
clothes. pastebOard boxes, old shoes, lea thsI
and rubber scrap. carpets and refuse gen
orally.
All the things counted as ashes and
paper are now taken out TO sea. but
uhderthe new arrange nent ashes ndstreet
sweepings will soon be dumped at Riker's
Island. where the cribwoTk is being put ia
place. and where there is room enough 70
meet the wants OF the city in this direction
for several years. while ut the same time
the city adding to its land area II is
estimated that the value of the land TO 5s
COO AN acre. and under the careful system
OF separation now in force no offensive
matter will be deposited in the cribwOrk.
Thenewest pla1of Col. Waringwa as adopt
cd only two OF three weeks ago Previ-
Ously all receptacles for paper were placed
on the sidewalk in anticipation of the ar.
rial Of the collection cart. By the new rule
these receptacleS are kept within the houses,
kind to be collected cards are hung out. in
the same way that notice is given to tho
drivers Of express wagons that they ara
wantedin places of business There is no
more familiar sight than the cards display
ell in front of shops and offices asking the
expressman TO call.
Col. Waring has adopted that idea and
supplies hOuseholderS with cards having
the letters '-P'' and r. in bright red in
tertwined, meaning paper and rub
biSh.' When such card is seen in a base
ment window ;he driver Of paper wagon
makes a call and carries away the rubbish.
This system has been adopted in the district
between Sixth and Thirty-fOurth streets,
east Of Sixth avenue, and is being gradually
extended uptown.
One Of the imprrveuentsin theCollectiOn
OF material swept upin the streets has now
been under the eyes of observing people f0r
several months and will soon be extended
over the city Under the OLD method whe1I
pile OF street dirt had been heaped up il was
allowed to lie until the collection cart
ohancad to come along, which might not be
for hour or two, an1in themeantime the
stuff was being blown about by the wind
au1 scattered by the wheels OfpaSSing We
ticles Col Waring introduced the plan
OF hsvin" The swespers carry bags.in which
the street iirt is placed as fast as gathered.
The tacSare carrie on Light track, so r
ranged thatthesaEiS : held open and the dirt
may be placed il 4 without scattering. As
soon as. bagis edits tied and placed en-
IT, sidewalk &C. be gathered up when the
revt aSr~1rt G, mes along About 500 OF
these baEs are row in use.