The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-10-04
SATURDAY. OCTOBER 1. 1913.
How Paris Handles
Her Garbage.

Her Garbage.
The dizplzal Of garbage is a prob
lem that is worrying every city, big
and little. in the world. This is par
ticularly true in view of the increased
attention which people are giving to
the subject OF sanitation as a result
of what science has shown to be the
relation of sanitation to the public
health
Pensacola In common with other
cities is now wrestling with the garb-
age question and The Journals AS
ISOLATED Press dispatches tell of Chi
Cages plight rs the result Of a broken
contract between the city and . garb-
age reduction company.
It is interesting therefore to learn
how the great city of Paris handles
the garbage problem, IN a recent is
sue OF the Chicago Tribune, Henry M.
Hyde tells Of the Paris system.
In the first riace. before Paris made
. long term contract for the disposal
Of its wastes it spent lot of time In
experimenting For awhile there
were tweise different plants with
which the city had contracts, each
of them operating under different
systems The best features Of each
plan we're adopted, and finally COM
pete system was worked out which
saen1s to combine most of them
The new central disposal plant oc-
cupies about I'VE acres Of land on the
hanks of the Seine river short dis
lance from the city proper. It in
cludes a large garage for the housing
Of the automobiles In which the
wastes OF the city are collected, a
hotel for the employees of the plant.
hospital and a bath and dressing room
In which there Is an individual locker
for the use of every employee The
interior decorations are handsome and
the whole atmosphere of the place as
far as possible removed from that of
the typical plant where garbage Is
handled
In Paris the householders are not re-
CURED to put garbage and other refuse
IN separate containers All waste ma
terial. including even the street
sweepings and the ashes produced in
the ordinary French household. Is put
In a single can.
The collections are made by seven
ty-f1ve huge, swift running auton1o-
bfles These cars are fitted with large.
serni round bodies. which can be lift
ed from the chassis. The garbage Is
loaded through sliding panels In the
sides OF the cars When the sliding
doors are closed the cars are water
and air tight AS a collection car ar
rtves at the disposal plant It's loaded
body is lifted frora the wheels by ma
chinery and carried up into the air
to the top Of one OF a battery of large
garbage silos. where 1t enters an air
tight compartment. There the bot
tom of the body is automatically open
ed and its contents discharged into
the silo.
From the moment the wastes are
emptied from the individual cans into
the automobile they are not exposed to
the air. SO that the bad doors are al
most entirely prevented.
In building the plant which con-
tains two batteries of four receiving
silos each. the city made a curious
contract with the private company
which has undertaken to operate it.
zach Of the two batteries of silos.
with accompanying apparatus, costs
about 100000. The city issues bonds
TO cover this estimated cost The city
also sets aside a fund annually to
cover the interest on the bonds and
pay them OF at maturity. In addition
the city guarantees the salaries and
wages of the employees and all the
running expenses OF the plant
When the profits from the sale OF
ths powdered fertilizer and OF the
slectric current begin to come in they
sre applied to lessen the expense of the
.ity. AS they increase-and they are
expected TO increase rapidly-any
money paid out by the city in the
EARLIER and leaner years for wages or
-unning expenses willSbe repaid, II
rally. when all these back debts are
made up the profits for the future will
20 three quarters to the city of Paris