El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-12-12
SAVES $4,000
IN FUEL YEARLY
Utilization of the City and
Army Garbage in Disposal
Plant Big Economy.
By RALPH HEBRON.


The daily accumulation of newspa-
pers. circulars. wrapping paper and
sweepings from the floor. that the FL
/ Paso housewife throws away and the
wastage Of pasteboard boxes. paper
/ cuttings. old letters. catalogs and 9th
er waste that the business man dis
/ cards every day do not seem very
valuable, most everyone will agree.
! Taken In the aggregate, however, this
{ daily stream Of rejected refuse from
[ the city's business and domestic life.
/ leaving out Of consideration food
scraps and table Wastage. when util-
lied in the garbage disposal plant Of
the city amount TO approximately S25.-
600 yearly, said William Sachs. super
intendent OF the plant
DaIy 80 wagons laden with their
loads Of wreckage and refuse make
their journey TO the disposal plant,
( located Just west Of Washington park.
Going up the concrete driveway. the
wagons dump their contents on the
floor Of the receiving room. Here the
process Of making valuable the seem
iugly worthless refuse begins. The
daily supply is approximately Is tons,
Mrs. Sachs said.
Old Paper Makes Steam.
From this room the mass Of paper.
pasteboard, wood fragments. and
other Wastage is fed gradually into
the great furnaces below. generating
neat Tor making steam in the big boil
ers, whence the power generated is Z
used 10 raise approximately $500, 900
gallons OF sewage water daily a
height Of IS feet, 50 that it can be
conducted by gravity into the river.
10 supply the heat which this gar
bage furnishes during the year would I
cost approximately $4,000 for coal or /
fuel OIL Mr. Sachs said. and therefore |
represents saving OF that much, for /
the garbage would have to be dis I
posed Of in any event
SenvenEers Have Their @Pickups."
Ihls, however, IS not all Of the Z
value from FL PasO's daily wastage. /
On the way out TO the plant the driver /
OF the wagon IS not idle, and by I
recognized custom. he Sc
lects anything of value from the waE-
on ne wishes, placing il in q bucket
at the front. Just how much OF sal
wage there is from this custom. is Of
course impossible to calculate. but
there are many bottles, clothing and
small articles which can be turned TO
some profitable end.
Then the is tons OF earth, manure
and unburnable material dumped
daily on the city farm Of 81 acres
represents some value, for by raising
the level six feet building sites OF
rich land are being formed. Thus far
approximately three blocks have been
built up in this way.
Handles Army Garbage.
Besides the city wagons hauling
refuse 70 the garbage plant, the gar
oage from the army camps is also
sent 10 the city plant Fifteen men
are employed and the plant runs day
and night So careful is the man
tgement in utilizing the garbage for
-uel. that thus far but one carload
II fuel oil has been burned. Supt.
sachs said.
At the plant there are one I25
horsepower COrliss engine, two 50
horsepower engines and one so horse
power electric motor that is some
lines called into service.
Eliminates the OdOr.
The sewage gees through an air J
purifier before being conducted 10 the {
liver Such care is used that there
s scarcely any scent or Odor about [
he plant In addition TO city sew q
rage, the sewer from Fort Bliss will
ie connected with the city main 10 &
he river within a short time.
In the old days when the garbage !
vas hauled 70 the city dumping Z
round lively contest for the val q
able bits Of Wastage and wreckaEe \
( former valuables and finery ensued %
mong the MeXicaus who eked out a
wing from what they could CLEAN p
rom the contfnts of the wagons. The c
4
or the formation OF a semicircle n
bout the rear. Armed with hooks OF
IRE, the cleaners struggled for each
IL OF refuse that seemed valuable
n addition TO the human refuse pick
rs, there were four footed scavengers
Tho searched for food in the city's
ffal and refuse, dogs and hogs. which %
lttened on the bits of food that @
light be concealed in the mass Of J
chris and waste.
Saves Everything Worth While. II
But the scientific disposition of y
arbage has changed this ana the II
tile colony Of Mexican garbage [,
-Orkers who lived in little huts. some n
Drmed Of tin cans and others built j.
{ sheet iron nailed on framework. o.
o longer CLEANS a living from the a.
ty garbage pile Not only is the IN
on-edible garbage utilized. but the a
'od scraps are fed to hogs under sani- e
Try conditions III
The methods employed now in Fl cl
aso's garbage disposal are so mod Il
n that Supt. Sachs believes the in
ant In its methods Of utilizing gar 81
age for fuel is in the lead Of those re
most cities Of the United States. II
MAHA RED CROSS ISSUES bi