The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-29
ESTIMATED COST I |NCINE RATORS FOR E S15O.00O
Sanitary Engineer Makes Survey Of Birmingham For
 The Aue-HeraId

@At tif ieQueSt or me Age Herald a sanitary engineer of no small re- pute has written the following re- port on the handling of garbage. His name is withheld by request. After survey of the Birmingham situation he expresses his view that the in stallation of modern Incineration is the most practicable method for Bir- mingham to adopt. His discussion of the subject follows:
 The problem of garbage collection and disposal now confronting Bir mingham is one that Is common to all cities. It is so to speak, one of the growing pains that must be con quered as necessary step to greater Birmingham. It is futile and costly to delay any longer in settling. once and for all, on the method of final disposal Of the solid wastes of the city. Just how great an influence the proper disposal of these wastes may have on the health of the city is, perhaps, an unsettled question, but the aesthetic and financial ele- ments involved demand prompt and final solution to the question.
 There are several methods fol- lowed in disposlng of garbage and rubbish. Indeed, the differentiation in methods begins with the collee- ton. The solid wastes of D city are usually divided into three classes garbage, rubbish and ashes. They may be collected separately, or all may be collected by the same veaicle and crew, and mixed indiscriminately, The method that will be adopted will depend upon the final disposal Where the garbage Is utilized. it must be collected separately, as for reduction or feeding to pigs. Where 1t is dumped or burned, separate col lection. which usually costs more. is not necessary.
 Inasmuch as garbage. that Is the organic and decomposable parts of the refuse such as vegetables, scraps of meat, kitchen wastes. etc, Is the main objectionable element In the solid wastes of a city, its economi- cal and sanitary disposal is the chief object to be attained. There are several methods in use for the dis- posal of garbage. These include dumping, burial, reduction, incinera- tion and feeding to pigs.
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 Birmingham And Dumps.
 Birmingham has already had much experience in the matter of dumping it's garbage, and has dis covered that 1t is method with many disadvantages. As breed . CT of flies and producer Of odors, few other things can compare with a garbage dump. Temporarlly y economical, and perhaps usable in a few cities of small size, 1t can be de- fended on few grounds. Burial Is possible only in a few of the smaller cities but where it is applicable. has several advantages. For city the size of Birmingham, there is little possibility of it's use.
 Production consists of cooking the garbage in a specially constructed plant, extracting, the valuable Breases and converting the remainder into fertilizer or fertilizer base. By this means some of the valuable elements $ of the garbage are recoNered-anu u some revenue is derived tC o1tset the cost of garbage collection, CooklnS Is done by steam, and the grease eA- tracted by some solvent usually pen zine or naptha. Reduction noC noo profitable in any city under lOo'Ooo nopulatfon, and in few of that slze' The popular mind has grossly eXag- xerated the value of the waste pro ducts of a community, and It IS lHe usual though not the unlNcrsal' eN- perience that the revenue rom auction plant pays little more than the upkeep of and interest on tH nlant if this much, especially Wlln inc nresent low price of grease anu the practical absence of market TOT tanLage. the main products or re- dnction nlant. There has been trou- ble with the production or ouoiS a' some of the plants installeu' duction plant is very costly to toi ttor, struct and requires skll m op0i
 "Fc,ding to pigs was 1alriy pr"l!I- ahIa dn,ine l9i7 to 1920, wheu pork was high, and several large ci'lgo' l,.red on by temporary profits, estap- ifshed nigceries to convert the gar hofn ;nto pork. Few of these are now paving interest on the lhNtStI ntent. though one or two are reIol tIO as still. making money. me Glsau- yantages of this method include the ereat care required in separating all other wastes from the garbage tne of frequent collections, so that the garbage will reach the pig perv before it starts termentlng -d very short time in the summer luc present low price of work, me su9- of garbage fed noss t1 cholera, and the great care Tequlreu to onerate a pig farm without the production If an enormous nuisance All these are real disadNahtaSts' Feeding garbage to pigs succesSi ully and profitably is a real accomplsh- ment.
 .Incineration is probably the most practicable method for the average citv. Just as the era of high priced norl and fats favored reduction and hog raising, so may the present hlSh price of fuel possibly favor the use of incineration with the comhustiHle I efuse burned to general heat and produce steam,
 Garbage statistics.
 some few months ago Pubic tr-- apcrina4r-in0 0HXlnG published in New York city, collected data on some 400 cities scattered the country. This intot- nation covered method of co!lectlon' charges for collection, method of dis- posal of garbage, income, if any, and results of the system in use.
 Among the cities reporting ap- proximately 30 are using moderation for the disposal of their solid wastes 75 cities are dumping their garbage, with or without burning on the dump; reduction Is practtced in less than 10 cities, most of which are of size; the other cities listed feed the garbage to pigs, a method m considerable favor New England-dump into rivers, bury, CT otherwise handle the problem of waste disposal.
 It is interesting to note that of the cities using incineration not more than three have their plants more than two miles from the center of the city. Atlantic city, x. J., where the garbage is incinerated by contract its wastes l5 miles from the city to destroy them. Not single city using incineration reported the plant as unsatisfactory, and all but two or three stated distinctly that this method was satisfactory.
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 Memphis Costs S60.OO0.