Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-02-01

Notecion ana Disposal Tor E13soOo-
Some Interesting Statistics.
In order TO obtain an accurate idea of
the method of garbage collection and dis
posal as proposed by the Atlantic Prod
uct Co., should IT, obtain contract
therefor from the city of Wilmington, a
reporter Of Every Evening went 10 At
lantic City, n. D., yesterday, and exam
ined the plant there, which is one of the
latest installed by the company, having
been put in operation June Sth, 1904.
The Atlantic City plant is ON North
Tennessee avenue, about a mile from At
lantic avenue, ON the meadows, and there
are no dwellings within about a quarter
of a mile. 1t is ON land owned by the
city, which is leased for the purpose.
There are several buildings, the total
area of which covers about lO0Xl50 feet.
The company's plant adioins one owned
and formerly operated by the city, which
has been abandoned. The city plant was
an incinerating project. 1t cost about
10000 eight years ago and was used for
about five years IL has been idle since
October, 1903, when "a portion of it was
wrecked by "a storm. After that storm
a contract was entered into with the
people now disposing Of the garbage, for
collection and disposal. a lO-year con-
tract was made, but it was nullihed by
the court, on the ground that n contract
could not be made in New Jersey, by "a
municipality, for a longer period than
five years. subsequently "a five year con-
tract was made and this was followed by
litigation based on the fact that the app
preparation for that year, 1904, was
about $3.50 short of the contract price,
and in order TO dispose of the matter, it
was decided TO give only yearly con-
tracts, and the company is now operating
on this plan, its present contract, which
was entered into on September lst, 1903,
expiring August 3lst, 1909.
When the Atlantic Product Co. first
took hold of the work, in October, 1908,
it had no plant there and the city decided
not to have its damaged plant repaired,
as the cost would exceed $4,000, and IL
would be used only temporarily, cQnse-
quently the company obligated itself to
dispose OF the garbage in some satisfac-
tory manner until its plant should be
ready to operate, and in the interim il
collected the garbage and had IL taken
in boats TO places where it could be dis
posed of 10 farmers.
The old city plant was a large affair.
IL consisted of a series of furnace like re-
torts, in which the garbage, after being
drained on the road outside the plant,
was burned, but, SO far as could be as
certained yesterday, there was no rcve-
nue. producing by-product of any conse.
queuce. The consuming fuel was gas,
which was made from coal on the prem.
ises, being conveyed from the gas pro-
ducer TO the retorts in large oonvoyors
on the roof of the building. The build
ing is one-story affair, with a friedrich,
roof, which is reached by a wooden in
cline. Up tnis the carts were drawn and
the garbage was dumped into the retorts,
after il had been drained This method
appears not 10 have been satisfactory. IL
is said to have produced obnoxious odors,
and although the plant is understood 10
have had a capacity of 100 tons day, 10
is said that the garbage sometimes accu-
mulated. Consequently, when the dis
astrous storm came along, in October,
1908, IL is understood that there was q
strong sentiment, official and unofficial,
in favor OF change. incidentally, the
old plant had been ON Michigan avenue,
nearer the built-up part of the city, and
when the one now abandoned was built
it was decided to place it a good distance
from the city proper, hence its location
on tho meadows.
The plant of the Atlantic Product Co..
the one now in use, was begun, it is said,
soon after the l0-year contract was
awarded, and, presumably, with the be-
lief that the company would do the work
there for at least 10 years. lt comprises
reduction house, boiler house, and re
ceiving house. The garbage goes to the
receiving house in the form in which it
Is collected. There are practically no de-
lays in unloading the carts, which are
run up an incline about 20 feet from the
floor of the receiving house. The gar
bage is run down a big shoot and is piled
on the floor of the receiving house.
through the centre of which runs a large
conyeyor, which is series of iron buck
cts on chain belt The garbage is fed
into the conyeyor by men with rakcs,
who take out tin cans and rags which are
encountered. The remainder is carried
up a long steel trough 60 n height of
about 40 feet, and by system of piping
it is shot into the tops of the retorts.
each feeding pipe having a valve, So as
90 make IL possible TO feed only empty
rotorts. As soon as retort Is filled it
is closed and made absolutely water.
steam and air tight, and incidentally,
odor tight. Each retort, which Is "a large
steel tank, with "a capacity OF l5 to rs
tons, is fitted with steam pipes two
inches in diameter The liquid. as wen
as the solid matter. Is carried up the
trough and into the rctorts
After a retort has been filled and hcr-
metically sealed there is a steam pres
sure turned in of from So TO % pounds.
and this steam pressure is kept up for
from siN To ten hours. the garbage being
boiled for that length of time
The boiling process, it is claimed. stcr.
lilies the garbage and at the conclusion
of this cooking thc contents of the tank
are deposited on a small car, with
screen floor, and the entire load Is Cow
cred with mgging. The car is run undef
a press, and the garbage is subjected to
pressure of $50 tons. which extracts
all of the liquid and leaves an almost dry
residue. This is taken ont .ind devoted
TO two purposes Until recently lhe solid
Nsidue was used exclusively as fuel at
the plant for operating purposes three
tons oi the garbage being equivalent as
a power producer, to one tom of coal but
recently the company has put IL on the
market as a fertilizer for farms, and