Evening star., 1943-09-06
Montgomery Group
Fayors Land-FiII Plan
For Refuse Disposal
Inspects New York Sites
Where Officials Said
Method Was Success

Tentative approval of the sanitary
land-fill method for dispos'~n of
waste material when the Was. L
ton Suburban Sanitary Commission
takes over the ash, trash and gar
bage collection in suburban Mont
gomery County was voiced yesterday
by group of county officials and
business leaders on their return from
an inspection tour of land-fill opera
tions in New York City.
New York Sanitation Commission
officials showed the delegation the
entire process, from the collection
at the. home by refuse trucks, the
sanitary fill work and land re-
claimed by the fills, including the
site of the Worlds Fair.
Members of the inspecting party
appeared satisfied that the method
could be used in the county with no
danger of odors or vermin.
Residents Praise System.
Members Of the party talked to
residents of the areas close to land
fills, in some instances within Is
feet of the operation, but found
no complaints. One of those interA
viewed told the group that the resi-
dents of his section felt the land
fill had been wonderful aid to
the community. A brackish swamp
section in which several children
had been drowned and which
formed a breeding ground for mos
quitoes and flies had been reclaimed
and a modern park and large
school house built on the reclaimed
ground.
Pictures Of the area before the
treatment and at several stages
prior to completion were shown the
group. One of the projects in
spected was corridor for the Kes-
sina parkway in which large
selection of waste land was being
reclaimed for use as a connecting
link.
In the party was Herbert N. Eaton,
chairman of the Sanitation and Pub
lie Health Committee of the Mont
gomery County Civic Federation,
who said he was completely in ap-
proval of the land-fill method and
expected to report to the federation
that he found no objections.
Others Favor Plan.
Lee H. Robinson, president of the
Silver Spring Board of Trade, and
William F. Carlin of the same or
ganization also expressed themselves
as satisfied with the plan.
L. B. Neuman, chairman of the
Sanitation and Public Health Com
mittee OF the Allied Civic Groups of
Silver Spring, and DR.. c. A. Weigel,
former chairman Of the committee,
said they intended to present a
favorable report.
Sanitary land fills have been made
in New York since 1897. The cost of
this method Of disposal is only about
one third of the cost of incineration,
city officials said, and has proved SO
successful that only approximately
40 per cent of the New York in
Generators are now In operation.
The sanitary land-fill method of
refuse disposal consists of dumping
a mixture of garbage, rubbish and
ashes, the materials usually con-
tanned in municipal refuse, and
covering it promptly with earth. The
refuse Is first leveled off and COM
pacted with bulldozers, so that a
closed cell is made of each days
deposit. Provision is made for apply
ing disinfecting chemicals in hot
weather.
The ground may be used for park
purposes within two or three years
and for light building in five to
seven years, 1t is said. An area of
three-fourths Of an acre to one and
a half acres will be required each
year for population of 10000 where
the refuse is placed in layers hav-
ing compacted depth of 6 feet.