The Oskaloosa herald., 1911-03-30
THE CARE OF GARBAGE
How the Can Has Been Reformed
in Minneapolis.

While there has been much discus
sion of the garbage problem that has
led to nothing, the board of health
at Minneapolis seems to have been
experimenting and to have made the
garbage can cease to be menace
to the neighborhood Dr. p. M. Hall
the health commissioner of Minneapo-
lis. describes the reform as follows:
Garbage is subject to rapid decay,
and this decay is fastened by three
things-heat, moisture and flies. Yet
what we call garbage is but an hour
removed from our tables--has been
served to us as food
The first step in the disposal of
garbage is carrying it from the house
and placing it in the can, and the
question naturally arises, why should
not this step be sanitary one and
be made in the direction of educat-
ing the housekeeper? Under exist
ing conditions in almost every city,
the can is as great, if not a greater
nuisance than the garbage itself.
Take the first step--the placing Of
pings from our tables into any kind
of receptacle galvanized iron
or what-not-and with the presence
of heat, moisture and flies you will
very soon have foul. maggoty, dis
Case-breeding mass of putrefaction.
Such mess is necessarily a nuli
sanCe every time it is handled from
the can to final disposal. II has been
said that the annoyance of the can
probably never viii be done away
with II seems that This condition
has been accepted everywhere and
that nobody has tried. We find, how
ever. exceptions in two cities, one ia
the United States and the other in
| Canada, where at least an effort has
| been made to keep The garbage can
! from being a constant nuisance. and
that is what | have come to tell you
about-how these two cities have
been trying, and | will say with a
great measure of success, to make
the garbage can no longer a nuisance.
"Dran garbage of all moisture, then
wrap it in paper before putting it in
! TO the can, and it will neither smell
badly in hot weather, nor freeze and
stick to the can in cold weather. Do
this and have a clean can at all
times. Heat moisture and the fly
are eliminated. This rule was put
into practice in Minneapolis in Febru-
cry, 1907, and is still in force. The
campaign was hard one, but we
have won. As one of the garbage
collectors said to me within the week,
The garbage cans in my district are
clean enough to keep pies in 1t all
rests with the collector. He has but
to report to the department that the
garbage is not properly drained and
wrapped in paper and no further SER
vice is rendered until there has been
compliance with the rule. If the
householder then fails to properly
care for his garbage or to have it
and fined. The operation OF this rule
has its economic, as well as its san
itary side. The life of the can is very
much prolonged The garbage will
roll out of the can in cold weather,
IS well as in the summer; if it does
not and the garbage is frozen, the
can is not emptied for the households
or has failed to obey the rule requir-
ing him to drain off the moisture.
Garbage kent in this way is not a
nuisance, does not invite flies and
does not need to be collected more
. frequently than once week, even
N warm weather, thus effecting a
great saving in the cost of collection.
It follows, naturally, that garbage
hat is not foul in the can will not
be so in the scavenger's wagon or
cart The garbage can should be
kept water tight and when not
so should be discarded and a new
one provided. A great deal of trou
ole has been created by the tipping
over of the cans by dogs, but a re.
cent invention in the shape of a
small appliance on the cover makes
the cover self-locking and where this
is used the dog nuisance has become
thing of the past.
THE results of over three years OF
experience with this method of hand
ling garbage in Minneapolis have
been entirely satisfactory. At first
it was laughed at as fad of the de
: partment, and we were asked when
we would also require that the pack
ages be tied with baby ribbon, but
, we persisted and now the public Is
> in accord with us, for it has seen ac
tuaI results in the shape of clean
t sanitary cans which are no longer I
, nuisance 1t is not pertinent ques
ton that in the collection and dis
4 posal of garbage. the frst stel
l should be system OF collection tina
gives to the citizen a garbage car
= which ie mn longer a nuisance?"