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BETTER BY THE DOZEN
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T4OOKING across from the neighbouring moors the multi-storey flats that have been erected during the past five or six years form an outstanding feature of the city of Sheffield. Standing a dozen or more storeys high they are perhaps of rather more attractive appearance than many of their kind and are focal points in the modern housing estates that have been growing up in the area. The hilly nature of Sheffield, which adds greatly to the difficulties of the cleansing staff's job in snowy or icy weather, also provides the necessary element for some new thoughts on landscaping, a task which has been approached with a considerable degree of inspiration. Change is sweeping across the face of the city, which has a population approaching the half-million mark.
New patterns of housing must usually be accompanied by correspondingly new patterns for refuse collection, and many fresh ideas are to be seen in the South Yorkshire city's development areas. Various techniques have made possible what is really the first floor. Then there are the maisonettes with refuse containers in• neat " cupboards " near the front doors. In four-storey flats a typical arrangement provides a special room near the entrance to which tenants, many of whom have pedal bins in their kitchens, bring their refuse, placing it in their own individual containers in the bin room.
During the past five years or so quite considerable extensions have been made by Sheffield in the employment of giant containers for use with the modern, tall flats. In some of the pre-war blocks chutes are used from the foot of which the carriers have to shovel the refuse. The modern approach in the recently erected structures is to employ chutes and giant containers. Most of those 1 saw on a recent tour of inspection were located in spacious chambers, access from the street being by means of roller shutters.
Collectors' Task Eased Mr. Jack Trow, head of the city's public cleansing and baths undertaking, told me that in areas such as these, the task of the collectors has been eased by the co-operation of the city architect's department in ensuring that the gradients of the approach paths from the nearest roadway are limited to one-in-14. At present 15-storey flats are the highest in use but 13-storey structures are more numerous. In the matter of refuse from residential property the law of averages works well and for 12-13 dwellings the giant container has been found
adequate for use in conjunction with the city's normal weekly collection. When the input for a container rises to 17 dwellings, however, the indications are that twice-weekly service becomes desirable. In short, for giant containers the system works best on the basis of-one bin to a dozen dwellings.
Use of the giant Paladin bins has been growing steadily. They numbered 125 at the close of the 1960-61 year and 12 months later there were 168. Increases in the number of multi-storey flats brought the addition of a further 25 in the ensuing year and, as dwellings of this type continue to be completed, the total will rise still further. On the Burngreave redevelopment scheme a half-dozen such bins serve 102 dWellings, an average of 17 per bin, and it is this number that has been found disproportionate to removal by weekly collections. Elsewhere in Sheffield the average number of dwellings per bin varies from 11.7 to 13.7 and in all these cases the weekly collection suffices.
Outlook Improved in the Gleadless Valley development the landscaping has been made specially attractive. In many other parts of the city, also, the tipping policy has greatly improved the outlook by the filling in of old quarries and workings which have then been rehabilitated in the form of playing fields and open spaces.
On the matter of positive action on public cleansing Sheffield has a proud record. Only the 1939-45 War prevented the city from being the first municipality in Britain to operate a dustless (fully enclosed) system. The opening move in this matter took place as long ago as February, 1928, when the city Council asked the Health Committee to investigate the use of refuse-collection vehicles that were dustproof. The first dustless pattern vehicles were purchased in March, 1929," and two further units of the same type in August, 1931. The system was gradually extended until by the beginning of 1942 there were 30 dustless units and 61,817 patent bins in use. However, owing to war-time conditions, further supplies became unobtainable.
More Than 500 Staff
In all, Sheffield employs a cleansing staff of more than 500. A high proportion of the rounds are set out for working by a team consisting. of a driver and five carriers for which the standard week's work may be regarded as 2,800 bins carried out to the kerb, emptied, and returned to the premises.. Some isolated rounds are planned for a driver and three. The backbone of the fleet is formed by 81 Shefflex dustless loaders, this body being a Sheffield product. There are 13 Nash-Sherren vehicles that have been converted to barrier loading', four fore-and-aft tippers, three S.D. vehicles for use with giant containers, five. vans for paper collection and six former electric units that have been converted with compressing bodies. Two waste fish collection vans are operated on an exchange bin system. Bin lift bodies include a Dennis Paxit and an S.D. Pakarnatic.
• The last-mentioned . unit, which went into service only a month ago, is of 35 en. yd. capacity.. The bin-lifting mechanism will load standard B.S.S. containers, in addition to those fitted with hinged lids, with equal ease and if necessary simultaneously. The system is hydraulically operated, the dischargeand-lower time being approximately 6-7 seconds. When using the standard bin without lid the disposal is not entirely dustless but the reduction in dust emission is shown to be approximately SO per cent. So that all reasonable items of refuse can be accepted under normal collection arrangements, sliding doors are provided at each side of the hopper which permit the direct loading of bulky articles.
In the majority of cases the chassis employed in the Sheffield fleet are of the Dennis Pax 'series, and so far as power units are concerned the Perkins P6 oil engine may be regarded as the department's standard. Examination of the records shows that one of the power units in this class has completed more than 165,000 miles without overhaul of any sort.
Apart from the forms of collection already Mentioned a separate arrangement applies to the Park Hill flats where approximately 1,000 dwellings are fitted with the Garchey disposal system. In this case the wale, after passing through the Garchey unit, flows to the boiler house for incineration and in due course the tailings are transported to the tip. This necessitates collections Of the order of 50 cwt. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The Committee's Policy All tips in current use at Sheffield are within the city boundary, so that the average haul is confined to about five miles. Briefly, the policy of the committee is to have disposal stations at every point of the compass with a view to reducing the haul as much as possible. For a period when electrics were in full use a transfer station was located at Bernard Road but obviously this meant that secondary handling and transport were necessary. Withdrawal from service of the short-range electric refuse collection vehicles facilitated the closure of the transfer station at the end of December, 1961, and the standing down of the fleet of 40 cu. yd. bulk refuse vehicles. These no longer being required, arrangements were made for their sale early in the 1962-63 year. The last of the electrically-operated refuse collection vehicles was taken out of service in March, 1962, so marking the end of an era that had covered some 45 years.
The total amount of refuse collected during the 1962-63 year was 146,825 tons, a decrease of more than 10,000 tons on the previous period. During that year the city cleansing department altogether disposed of 170,396 tons of refuse, this figure including 12,060 tons brought in by members of the trading coinmunity to the disposal point at the Penistorte Road works and to the various tipping sites. This represents a slight reduction on the previous year so that weights of both household and trade refuse have fallen but, in view of the progressive lightening in the density of refuse, a tonnage drop nowadays must not be taken as indicating any lesser call on a department's facilities.
Revenue from salvage in 1962-63 was £24,278. In this connection the most productive items were baled tins and ferrous scrap (£10,212), cinders, recovered coke, dust and associated products (18,044), and baled paper (15,426). The department is operating a contract for the recovery of inferior fuels from the tip at Beighton Road. Double benefits accrue from this arrangement, the first being the availability of additional tipping .space as a result of the removal of the materials. Secondly, increased income arises which can be offset against the costs of tipping refuse.
No Predominant Element Because of the large cross-section of industries from which Sheffield's trade refuse is drawn it contains no predominant element and as a result no recurring problems arise in its .handling. During the year to March, 1963, the Penistone Road plant disposed of 46,639 tons by separation and incineration, the remaining 123,757 tons being transported straight to 'the controlled tips.
Sheffield Cleansing and Baths Department is fortunate in having built up an especially well-equipped workshop with substantial sections devoted to electrical, mechanical and automotive engineering. The department is justifiably proud of its craftsmen whose skill enables them to deal with a wide range of requirements on vehicles, equipment, mobile and stationary plant. Maintenance in this. undertaking is based on the number of hours run by the various units, oil changes for instance being scheduled at three-monthly intervals. The vehicles are also subject to periodical inspections designed to reveal any irregularities that may be in the course of development. Given attention on this basis, the performance of the fleet's vehicles shows up extremely well and many engines are in service which have upwards of 100,000 miles to their credit.