Refuse Disposal in Blocks of Flats
THIS
HIS DIGEST summarises the results of a study of users' experience of four main systems of refuse disposal used in Britain in local authority blocks of flats or maisonettes. The study, which was undertaken in collaboration with other organisations, yielded results which assisted in compiling B. S. C. P. 306 The 'The Storage and Collection of Refuse from Residential Buildings'. The Digest supplements the advice given in the code by discussing also the Garchey water-borne system of refuse disposal, design and manage- ment factors affecting users' satisfaction, and costs. Whilst it is written primarily for designers the Digest should also be of value to those concerned with public cleansing and housing administration and management.
The systems of refuse disposal studied were as follows:
1. Ordinary dustbins, nominally one to each dwelling. kept at either ground or dwelling level, and em- ptied periodically by hand into collecting vehicle.
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2. Communal containers, into which users deposited refuse by hand at ground level; emptied mechanically by special collecting vehicle.
3. Chutes, which enabled users to drop refuse from upper levels to containers at ground level (general- ly of the same type as communal containers and handled in the same way).
4. The Garchey system, by which refuse
water-borne through
was
pipes from
a point within the dwelling (the normal outlet. suit- able enlarged. from the kitchen sink) to an underground collection cham- ber and thence to a local disposal station. where it was dried and burnt. (A modified Garchey system is now available; this is described later.)
The special features of these sys
are discussed in more detail later in this Digest.
tems
HOUSEHOLD REFUSE
Household refuse consists pri- marily of: food waste, paper waste. including cartons, boxes and similar articles, bottles. tins, rags, ashes from blocks of flats with solid fuel fires, and occasional larger items. The proportions in which these classes of article occur
vary from estate to estate, but in general re- flect the changes in the composition
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of domestic refuse that have OC- curred over the past twenty years. It is now bulkier and lighter as a result of changed methods of heat- ing and of packing consumer goods; also more large articles require to be disposed of as householders place furniture and domestic equip- ment more frequently,
re.
None of the systems of disposal mentioned above makes provision for larger articles and special provi sion has to be made in large blocks of flats for collection of these ticles and possibly for their storage before collection.
ar.
The bulk of the daily refuse from a block of flats is usually disposed of by one of the four systems de- scribed here, but there are in many cases other methods of disposal. such as burning paper and food waste, where solid fires or indepen- dent boilers are installed, or salvag- ing certain classes of article. Local authorities vary markedly in the ex- tent to which they make salvage col. lections. Some find them profitable and others do not. Where separate collections are made of waste paper. or of food waste for pig food, there is considerably less demand on the normal refuse collection. in the one case by reduction of bulk and in the other by elimination of most put- rescrible matter.
HOUSEWIVES' ROUTINES
Housewives practices and rou- have a bearing on the acceptability of
a refuse disposal system. Apart from the question of using the sys- tem with care so as to avoid unneces- sary dirt, smell and noise, it can be of importance whether or not the housewife wraps her refuse in paper
before disposal; whether she takes it out to the disposal point immedi ately or collects it indoors and dis- poses of it less frequently; at what time of day she usually disposes of it; and whether she has more re. fuse for disposal at weekends than during the week.
Wrapping refuse in paper. par. ticularly for disposal by chute, is generally recommended as a means of reducing spillage and smell. Many local authorities
urge their tenants to adopt this practice.
Temporary retention of refuse in- doors. possibly in a kitchen bucket Gr abinette. is a more frequent practice in flats with dustbins or communal containers than in those with chutes. which are likely to be at hand. It enables the housewife to choose her time for disposal and tends to reduce the number of visits to the disposal point.
nearer
It is found that about 40% of tenants deposit refuse after dusk. the proportion being higher in blocks with communal containers or chutes and lower in those with dustbins. This indicates the impor tance of suitable artificial lighting of disposal points. and planning and constructional measures to reduce noise from disposal systems.
It is general for tenants to de- posit more refuse per day on Satur. day and Sunday than on the other days of the week. particularly in blocks with chutes. It is therefore important that where there are two or three collections per week the spacing of the collections should take account of this fact, i.e. the unavoidable ‘odd day' should fall in the mid-week period, and not at
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER - · VOLUME 18. NUMBER 5
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