C.
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have been suggested in the past and duly examined by officials of the Departments affected by the composting project. My impression is that the sito at Tsun Wan is now acceptable to all Departments.
At Tsun an there is already a good sca wall. In enclosuro 67 of file A.G. 7/6/50, the area of the site is stated to be
50 acres of which an irregular portion having about 14 acres has so far been reclaimed. Access by road and sea is good. Electric power is available nearby. There is a river not far away from which fresh water could be obtained.
In respect of vulnerability to typhoons this site is said to
be fair.
Discussion of Information.
1. Quantities to be chocked.
2.
In view of the indication by tho
Agricultural Department that the weight of nightsoil may have been overestimated, it is very desirable that a check should be made of the quantity collected. The measurement could probably be made most readily by observing the draught of cach nightsoil bargo, before and after loading.
A useful chock on the quantity and density of refuse could also be made by the same method if the moan depth to which tho refuse was trimmed in the barge were observed at the same time.
The Marine Department has undertaken to supply displacement diagrams for the new steel barges and also for those of the older types of barge for which this information is available.
For the purpose of this chock, arrangements should be made to record the empty and loaded draughts of cach nightsoil and refuse barge, and the depth to which the refuse is trimmed in each refuse barge, on cach of three days, not necessarily consecutive but sufficiently calm for the draughts to be observed with reasonable accuracy.
Nightsoil. I agree that the 2-pail system for collection of nightsoil is generally more sanitary and efficient than the other system and I am in favour of its adoption throughout the urban arca. Not only will the collection operations be made more hygienic thereby, but the use of a bucket of standard shape and size will facilitate the provision of satisfactory handling, emptying and cleansing equipment. Also the daytime operation will make supervision casier and will thus help the detection and eventual climination of illicit disposal of nightsoil.
The number of persons contributing to the nightsoil collection is indeterminate, but an estimate may be made by assuming that the squatter population is 300,000 and that of the balance (= 1,450,000) 70% are dependent upon the pail system. On this basis there would be 1,015,000 users of pails, or an average of 20 users per pail. This number of users, in conjunction with the higher of the estimates for the total weight of nightsoil collected, namely 180 tons per day, gives an average yield of only 0.4 lb per head per day.
Such a weight would represent little more than solid excrement and even if some allowance be made for loss of nightsoil to illicit collection, the foregoing estimates tend to confirm that, with the cxisting sanitary arrangements and the habits of the people, most of the urine already passes to the sewers and drains and is not received by the nightsoil collection service.