Evening journal., 1913-08-01
new METHOD
OF COLLECTING
SUGGESTED
Board Of Health Would Have
Garbage Placed in One
Particular Place
COUNCIL MAY AMEND
ORDINANCE ON SUBJECT

-. Auollu ElllHOu, secretary VI lue
Board Of Health appeared before the
City Council last night with report
giving the boards reasons why gar
bage was not collected in a better
manner. Actual figures in the Offices
of the board show that there are less
complaints about garbage this year
than there were last year, and that
whenever the matter is stirred up the
complaints run higher than on the
average until the agitation dies out.
After submitting his report, Mr..
Ellison said he was ready to answer
any and all questions of the mem
bers that were in his power to answer.
MIR. Ellison said the health board is
EeiC responsible for the collection of
tAe garbage when it has no authority
ever the contractors until the COM
plants were made. He said that one
third of the complaints received came
from apartment houses and other
houses where the garbage men have
TO 90 up stairs after garbage. Thew
are not required to go above the
ground floor and IL is done simply
as a matter of convenience. Mr.. Ellison
was OF the opinion that the old sys-
tenn of collection should be abolished
and that collections should be made
by districts. MIR. Ellison favored hav-
Ing the garbage placed in some one
particular place by each housekeeper
so that the men would not have to
take time going to different places at
each house In Trenton the city
saved 100000 by having the garbage
collected from the sidewalk instead of
having the men go into the yard.
Dr. Briggs, of the Board of Health,
said the board members were of the
opinion after careful investigation
that the conditions existing at the
present time could not be remedied
until the householder was required
TO put the garbage in some particular
place. He said he hoped the Council
would approve of the plan as sug-
gested in the report.
Mr.. EllisOns report follows:
Il am directed by the members of the
Board of Health to notify your honor
able body of the conditions which this
board has found to exist in tine collec-
tion of garbage in this city.
1T is the sense of this board that the
garbage is being collected at the present
time as well, if not better, than at any
time previous, and in support OF such
statement, your attention is called TO
the statement which David Bush of the
Wilmington Sanitary Company, made
before this board at its meeting of May
10. 1913. which was TO the effect that the
garbage which is being hauled into the
disposal plant has increased 40 per cent.
Mr.. Bush also stated that IN his opinion
the garbage was being collected better
than at any time previous. as the city
had not grown TO the extent OF the in
crease
"The special system or collection of
garbage which has been in vogue for
years is inadequate as the collectors are
compelled 10 90 into houses and yards
for the garbage. and an doing so are con
fronted with the following conditions:
Locked gates. dogs, families being out
or in numbers Of cases a search has TO
be made TO locate the garbage. as 1t is
kept in out -the-way places. in cup
boards under steps in covered boxes IN
holes and numerous other places which
the regular collector gets used 70, but if
be should be taken sick or quit. 10
takes some time for the new man to ia
miliarize himself with the above condi-
tions, and in doing so causes lots of
complaints to be sent into the office.
The Jog question Is also one TO be con
sidered, as it Is Impossible TO get the
collectors TO go into the yards where
dogs are kept. From the police census
we find that there are $500 dogs, about
one dog to every eight houses Thu
contractors are at the mercy of the pub
lie. no matter how we'll the collections
are made, complaints can be lodged
against them with no way of finding out
that they were on We're not living mp
to their contracts. IN numbers of other
cases we have found that the cans are
entirely too small TO hold two days ac-
emulation of garbage and in a large
percentage of homes in the city no pro-
vision is made by the householders TO
provide themselves with cans, using al
most any kind of an old can or box.
"The Board of Health is invested
with the powder TO issue contracts.
but they are not invested with any
powder as to seeing that the garbage
is collected. The garbage could stand
in yards for years and the Board of
Health would be none the wiser un-
less complaint was made. The COM
plant has to exist before the board
can remedy the condition by sending
a man to make a special collection,
and if the special collector fails to
get the garbage, the Office must again
wait until complaint is made. This
is one of the weak spots in the pres
ent system, as there is no means pro-
vided for a supervision of the cOllec-
tion, and until some means are pro-
vided to supervise the collection, the
board feels that it will be impossible
10 better the garbage collection. IL
is impossible for the health officers
to devote any time to the supervision
Of the collections, as their time is
completely taken up with other mat
ters. Their duties are continually in
creasing as we'll as their districts. In
majority of cases they have to cover
their districts on foot, as the apprO-
priation of This department will not
allow car fare.
The trouble with the garbage col
lection which the board is now fac
ing Is not new one, every Board of
Health for years has to face the same
conditions every summer. and in no
instance has the condition been bet
tered, no matter how hard they tried,
nor Will II be until council provides
some means for the supervision of
the collections.
The above statement is not made
by the board with any intention of
shifting the responsibility, nor Of
shielding the contractors, but is a
candid statement of the facts in the
case made with the intention of bet
tering The existing condition, which
can only be made with the help of
council.
The hoard has Investigated means
OF garbage collection in other cities
and finds that Wilmington is not alone