Improvement in the Treatment of Garbage.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Apr., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 24th Jan., 1896-Accepted, 25th Apr., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in the Treatment of Garbage.
I, ARCHIBALD ANDERSON DICKSON, of The Bank of Commerce Building, in
the City of Toronto, County of York and Province of Ontario, in the Dominion
of Canada, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
It has long been a desideratum in large cities and towns that the vegetable and
animal garbage, offal or refuse, from houses, hotels, &c. should be removed and
disposed of without the dissemination of the noxious vapors and odors due to their
decomposition or putrefaction, and so prejudicial to health and comfort, and many
efforts have been put forth in the direction of the cremation and destruction of
such garbage.
Severe restrictions have had to be put upon contracting scavengers to prevent a
nuisance, especially in the locality of the final disposal of the garbage, with more
or less difficulty in enforcing same, and, attaining the object aimed at.
Besides this, I am unaware of any successful attempt to utilize this garbage for
any useful purpose, and it is to these particular ends that my invention is directed,
viz..the prevention of, unhealthy, vapors and odors in handling the garbage, and
its utilization for a marketable commodity.
I propose to produce from the garbage, or offal, treated according to my improve-
ment, a valuable base for fertilizers, capable of taking up, or being readily
assimilated, or mixed with any other chemical or natural material, according to the
special requirements of particular, lands, or, soils, or if used, alone, my material
will be found extremely valuable in keeping open soils largely composed of clay,
and in enriching those of more sandy qualities.
Furthermore, apart from the final disposal of the garbage or offal, I am able to
largely prevent its exhaling unpleasant, and unhealthy gases and odors while being
transported from place to place, and' during the course of its being manufactured,
and leave it free of all objection in this respect when it has been reduced or resolved
into a fertilizer.
<<
The essential feature in my treatment of the garbage is the use of peat moss,
after it has been resolved into the condition where it is known as moss litter,"
for the purpose of absorbing the surplus moisture, and further to act as a binding
material when the garbage has been completely treated by my method.
I take "moss litter," that is to say, moss and vegetable fibres from the surface
of a peat.bog, or marsh, and reduced by breaking up and drying, and add-it to the
vegetable and, animal garbage, in suitable proportions, and incorporate the same
together in a suitable. tank or mixer, care being taken that in addition to the
mixing, a crushing, and pressing action, by any suitable crushing mechanism, shall
be imparted to the garbage especially, so that the bulk of the water therein shall
be expressed, and its particles and fibres be brought into, immediate contact with
the dried, moss.
The result of this is that the liquids-which will be more or less viscid according
to the state of decomposition of the garbage, will be immediately taken up or
absorbed by the "moss-litter," and the broken fibres of the vegetable, and animal
matters will be covered by it.
As I have found that peat moss treated by my system is capable of absorbing

page_text: moisture to the extent of at least nineteen times its own weight, and there not being
more than-say-fifty (50%) per cent. of water in the average city garbage,
there will still be ample capacity in the moss to take up any gases liable to exhale
as the treatment proceeds, and disagreeable odors will in this way be lessened if
not entirely dissipated or prevented.
The moss and garbage, having been incorporated, and any lumps having been
fractured and reduced as above, the mass is now subjected to a drying operation to
reduce the constituent moisture to the minimum.
When the resultant product is to serve as a base for fertilizers, I prefer that it
shall be dried until about ten (10%) per cent. of moisture only remains in the
mass, but, of course, this is subject to variation consonant with conditions
subsequent.
In drying, I prefer to feed the incorporated and crushed garbage and moss in
layers upon a carrier travelling in a closed tunnel, or elongated chamber in
opposition to a blast, or current of dry hot air, which shall thoroughly surround
and permeate the mixed materials as they pass at regulated speed from end to end
of the tunnel;-but I may adopt other means.
When the necessary drying has been effected; I prefer to grind or pulverize the
material to any degree of fineness which may be found necessary or desirable
according to the uses to which it is to be put, and afterwards prefer to pack it
into bales for shipment. In baling I prefer that the pulverized material should be
fed from a hopper, or, chute, to a mold in which it will be packed to the required
quantity or weight, then compressed to size by additional devices, and finally tied
and discharged. I may, however, pack the pulverized material loose in barrels,
bags, or boxes, in which condition it would be ready for admixture with other
fertilizing materials suitable for special purposes, and could afterwards be baled, if
desired.
It will be found that a combination of materials such as I have mentioned as
essential to the present method or process, will be valuable as a fertilizing and
enriching medium for poor or wornout soil, in itself.
The deodorizing and absorptive qualities of the peat moss will effectually remove
all unpleasant and unhealthy features from the handling of city garbage, either in
the way just described, or by spreading a layer of the dried peat moss over a load
of such refuse or offal, before transporting it through the streets to the place of
final treatment, or in simply preparing the garbage to be dried and burned, if it
is to be disposed of in this way.
Dated this Eleventh day of April 1895.
I, ARCHIBALD ANDERSON DICKSON of The Bank of Commerce Building, in
the City of Toronto, County of York and Province of Ontario, in the Dominion
of Canada, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
It has long been a desideratum in large cities and towns that the vegetable aud
animal garbage offal or refuse, from houses, hotels, &c. should be removed and
disposed of without the dissemination of the noxious vapors and odors due to their
decomposition or putrefaction, and so prejudicial to health and comfort and many
efforts have been put forth in the direction of the cremation and destruction of such
garbage.
While it has usually been permitted to remove the accumulations of garbage

page_text: from householders' barrels, &c. in carts at stated intervals and regular hours, and'
to transport the same through the streets to some central, or outlying dump, severe
restrictions bave had to be put upon contracting scavengers to prevent a nuisance,.
especially in the locality of the final disposal of the garbage with more or less.
difficulty in enforcing same, and attaining the object aimed at.
Besides this, I am unaware of any successful attempt to utilize this garbage for
any useful purpose, and it is to these particular ends that my invention is directed,
viz.: the prevention of unhealthy vapors and odors in handling the garbage and
its utilization for a marketable commodity.
I propose to produce from the garbage, or offal, treated according to my improve-
ment, a valuable base for fertilizers, capable of taking up, or being readily
assimilated, or mixed with any other chemical or natural material, according to the
special requirements of particular lands or soils,-
-or if used alone, my material
will be found extremely valuable in keeping open soils largely composed of clay,
and in enriching those of more sandy qualities.
Furthermore, apart from the final disposal of the garbage or offal, I am able to
largely prevent its exhaling unpleasant and unhealthy gases and odors while being
transported from place to place, and during the course of its being manufactured
and leave it free of all objection in this respect when it has been reduced or resolved
into a fertilizer.
I will describe my invention in such detail that skilled persons will be able to
put the same into practice.
The essential feature in my treatment of the garbage is the use of peat moss,
after it has been resolved into the condition where it is known as "moss litter," for
the purpose of absorbing the surplus moisture, and further to act as a binding
material when the garbage has been completely treated by my method, and put up
into bales or packages.
I take "moss litter," that is to say, moss and vegetable fibres from the surface
of a peat bog, or marsh, and reduced by breaking up and drying, and add it to the
vegetable and animal garbage, in the proportion, preferably, of about one (1) part
moss litter to ten (10) parts garbage, and thoroughly stir and incorporate the
same together in a suitable tank or mixer, care being taken that in addition to the
mixing, a crushing and pressing action, by any suitable crushing mechanism, shall
be imparted to the garbage especially, so that the bulk of the water therein shall
be expressed, and its particles and fibres be brought into immediate contact with
the dried moss.
The result of this is that the liquids which will be more or less viscid according
to the state of decomposition of the garbage, will be immediately taken up or
absorbed by the "moss-litter," and the broken fibres of the vegetable and animal.
matters will be covered by it.
As I have found that peat moss treated by my system is capable of absorbing
moisture to the extent of at least nineteen times its own weight, and there not.
being more than-say-fifty (50%) per cent. of water in the average city
garbage, there will still be ample capacity in the moss to take up any gases liable.
to exhale as the treatment proceeds, and disagreeable odors will in this way be
lessened if not entirely dissipated or prevented.
The moss and garbage, having been incorporated, and any lumps having been
fractured and reduced as above, the mass is now subjected to a drying operation
to reduce the constituent moisture to the minimum, according to the special.
requirements of the product, or initial condition of the materials under treatment.
When the resultant product is to serve as a base for fertilizers, I prefer that
it shall be dried until about ten (10%) per cent. of moisture only remains in
the mass, but, of course, this is subject to variation consonant with conditions.
subsequent.
In drying, I prefer to feed the incorporated and crushed garbage and moss in
layers upon a carrier travelling in a closed tunnel,, or elongated chamber in
opposition to a blast or current of dry hot air which shall thoroughly surround and

page_text: permeate the mixed materials as they pass at regulated speed from end to end of
the tunnel-but I may adopt other means.
When the necessary drying has been effected, I prefer to grind or pulverize the
material to any degree of fineness which may be found necessary or desirable
according to the uses to which it is to be put, and afterwards prefer to pack
it into bales for shipment. In baling I prefer that the pulverized material should be
fed from a hopper, or, chute, to a mold in which it will be packed to the required
quantity or weight, then compressed to size by additional devices, and finally tied
and discharged. I may, however, pack the pulverized material loose in barrels,
bags, or boxes, in which condition it would be ready for admixture with other
fertilizing materials suitable for special purposes, and could afterwards be baled,
if desired.
It will be found that a combination of materials. such as I have mentioned as
essential to the present method or process, will be valuable as a fertilizing and
enriching medium for poor or wornout soil, in itself.
The deodorizing and absorptive qualities of the peat moss will effectually remove
all unpleasant and unhealthy features from the handling of city garbage, either in
the way just described, or by spreading a layer of the dried peat moss over a load
of such refuse or offal, before transporting it through the streets to the place of
final treatment, or in simply preparing the garbage to be dried and burned, if it
is to be disposed of in this way.
In the Specification and drawings of my application for British Patent
No. 8233 relating to the general treatment of peat moss. and. like substances,
I have fully described an apparatus which will be found highly suitable for drying
the materials herein named, and for disposing the same in bales, and I recommend
the use of same, in putting my present invention into practice, but such apparatus
forms no essential part of the improvement herein above set forth, and may be
varied, with the details of my process according to judgment without departing
from the principle or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what, manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The method of treating city garbage, which consists in mixing therewith peat
moss in the form of "moss litter," for the purpose of taking up or absorbing the
viscid liquids and noxious gases,-substantially as set forth.
2. The method of treating city garbage, which consists in mixing therewith
peat moss in the form of "moss litter" for absorbing the viscid liquids, and then
drying the whole together before finally disposing of the mass, whereby the
dissemination of noxious odors and gases is prevented, substantially as set
forth.
3. The method of treating garbage composed of vegetable and animal matters,
which consists in mixing the same with peat moss in the form of dry "moss
litter," crushing the mass so as to liberate the liquids in the garbage and cause
them to be absorbed by the moss, then drying out the desired amount of moisture,
and grinding or pulverizing the resultant mixture,-substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
4. The improved product berein described, the same being a base for fertilizers
and consisting of vegetable and animal matters derived from garbage, and dry
'moss litter" mixed in substantially the proportions specified and dried together
and ground or pulverized, as set forth.
"
Dated this Sixth day of January 1896.