New-York tribune. [volume], February 18, 1912, Page 4, Image 18

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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Garbage of New York's Myriad Households Is
a Golconda to Those Who Mine It
From the Ash Heap and the Offal Pile Come Materials for Which, Although"
You Have Once Thrown Them Away, You Later Pay Goodly
Sums When They Appear in the Form of Building
Materials or Home Utensils.
CAST your brand upon the garbage
and It shall return to you after
many days yea, verily, In many
Waya Some such garbling of the Script?
ures oreurs to the citl/.en of New York who
i been trying to post himself on the
iTurlts of the present discussion as to the
handling Of the city's refuse.
Qnrhnfle of use? it Is. indeed. So much
so that corporations are eagerly seeking the
rl?,bt to handle It. Boms people maintain
a million dollars a year is made out of It.
Others s? off at those figures. All admit,
though, that there's money In it. Some
think that Father Knickerbocker ought to
get more money out of It.
Be that as it may. most housekeepers are
i "Why, come to think of it, even the tit
: washers used to nal', on that paper sheath
I Ing I spoke of, ami your window weiRhti
: may have come from old tin cans. The Idet
j of h safe in your house Is a good one
? That owes a tribute t?. the defunct car
: also. Burglars find the t'n sheets used fot
? the filling a v? ry discouraging proposition
? The rubber on the weather ?tripe, UM
? solder on that queer elbow in the conductor
, pipe, and the glue fastening MMM of your
' ornamental woodwork have all danced to?
! gether on the ash dump."
Thus does a great city turn many an
| honest penny. "A creative economy Is the
frei of magnificence. ' says Kmerson. .\m
' important preliminary in the upbuilding of
(morning and found, after vou nibbled It,
was ? ne too many; the quarter of a cake
I that somehow got dry before even the chil?
dren found It In the back of the cupbogfd,
the acorchad potatoes, sent bach te Ihe
, kitchen with your husband's blessing, ami
? the fag end of n rrast that the cook for
' pot to put In th. soup keuie. a* \..i or?
dered. Her" they ail are. with millions of
other household r? li - of th" j_r- >it cit>.
'! 1 ? ;. are Sboul t>> suffer, not exactly a
-? i - hunt----." a Jamaica Pa- chance, let
' ua say. \nd they'll retara to you, per- ?
?haps t?> your very kitchen. :n th- form
of soap or ammonia to clean the shelve,
i or pans or sinks that they left In greasy
disorder.
THE BARREN ISLAND PLANT.
surprised to know that garbage is of an
use. Thev supposed as they careless!
tossed their meat scraps and empty can
Into th? pail and sent it down the dumb
waiter, in response to the janitor s whistle
that they ha?l seen the ?nd Of a bad matter
Not so. Garbage, like the cat of unap
**-*eeiated fidelity celebrated in song, is tnjit?
Itkdy to come back.
l'eradventure, the meat scraps may loon
^ tip ?gain In sweetly scented soap and th<
m emitv ran as ? window weight In the sum
U poet bungalow. Those empty beer bottle:
that were so oft?n tUChed coyly away in tin
bottom of the parbace pail, under the hreai
scraps, lest "the neighbors on the shaft rcI
wieng Ideas." may live again to cry ou'
a? iisinrly from the briquette? in that samf
banasto*
Indeed, should yon take to prying arounr
? iite little foreign restau
i .its on the ?iast Bid? and eating theli
queer, fnssed-up, hash) dishes, that Hlblica
phrase about the returning bread an?
things is likely to b.?? ome all to literallv
true, a *"ord to the wise is sufficient alonl
: unsavory lines.
A Harlem cliff dweller pal?] g Bout!
Brooklyn contractor his price an?l gleeful)*,
took title to a cosey, detached, "nlne-l*oom
and." with green grass growing all around,
Then he ?Invited a- friend out to inspect It
The frienil knew the contractor. Als?, the
friend was a sanitary expert He carefully
looked the pla.ee over ?from lawn and gar?
den tfi near-tile ro?.f
"What do you think of it?" asked the
owner.
"Garbage"' quoth the friend, ltuoni? ally.
"What do you mean?" gasped the disap?
pointed praise seek? r.
"Just what I say, garbage'** persisted the
friend "But," he hastily added, "don't feel
hurt about It. You don't uiubrstand? Well,
look. This whole lot of yours is made
land. Made of what? Why, some year.-?
ago this building sit? f/as a swamp. It
wm? filled in with th.- city'? rubtttsh 1?01) l
look mad, as if yon had bees imposed upon.
Not a bit of it.
"This garden is fine and the lawn couldn't
look better. Hut those choice Klllarney
****?? and those thrifty looking vegetable?
would never have flout ished In the dry
stteet sweepings and other sterile aci umu
, latlons of the dump cart. Copious UM ot
fertiliser, probably hailing from the gar?
bage disposal plant at Barren Island, has
furnished the magic touch.
"Why, man, the foundation for your fine
cellar floor and for your front walk cami?
from the dumps. The top laver of cement.
' too, as well as that used In building your
'. cistern Your brb k foundation wall Is ex
; cellent, and, coming at u small cost, prob
' ably had the same origin.
"1 like your house all the way through.
3 have no ?loui.t, ?hough, that th. cement In
; Its walls, th.- weather ?heafhiag, the ?onnd
proof Ailing in th? partitions; yes, ib?. fancy
? tile In the bathroom and the Inlaid blocks
; ?of your kitchen floor, the kitchen tubs and
tb?re ?jaund proof covers, wire all yielded
?.p by the garbage dispos..! system I'm not
! eure, by the way. but that the ?heap doth
coat worn by Art-gel ha? in It 'shoddy'
tram the mmi?
the city beautiful is t?> keep it clean at
the least possible expense.
Nor is this by any means a simple
problem. It involves the handling nt the
preeent time of over three million tons of
refuse a year, a ftuure which is increasing
by a goo,I percentage annually. This In- ?
eludes, besides garbage proper, which1
means the animal and vegetable waste of
kltchei i :? .1' ki is. - hes, ?eht i ?
and rubbish
The disposal of garbage ??roper Is perhap.*
the most serious consideration. Improperly
handled it is .-. menace to public health
Some cities hury it. Others dump It in th?
s.a. Others burn it up. New York City
turns it to use and thus makes It pay pari
of the expense of Its removal,
I'tiltaatlon depends largel) on quick
handling, for the swill or fond was.? must
be st?rilized shortly after receipt owing W
the fad that it la s-> putrescible, The
e.ss of the system in ibis particular Is evi?
denced by a low ?Path rate among the em
ployee who, at Barren Island, dally handle
one thousand tons of the stuff
There are probabl) few \isitors to .l??
malo? Pay who take the trouble to visit
desolate Parren Island, unssvory of repu?
tation. Put ??ne who does Anda much of
Interest in those rambllne sheds and belch
in^ furnaces.
Contractors receive the .-artai
their scours at the waterfront dumps an.?
tow it pi tha Island, when ?. la pul through
th.- reduction procesa it.!-- are lhal exna
chop you ordered si breakfast th?
Here,
wife .aus..?: tr?ii I?'. In spite ??!' ?
requeati tr??m accredited official* and ?i -
courteous threats shouted up the dumb?
waiter si ..ft I ? dls< :? ?m, ?i ? nltori
will chuck Into what the departir*
i irhage i'bat Is, the j
ri'.ti and vegetable waste of tho ki'
bottles, rats, papers and tin ?
her laa! ? Ls wll
low plumea, may Jauntily to,? o't - ??
inr's refuse ?and escape i'.e .u ? ?
of the assorti r till I! ? this final
place ?if judgment. it hous holder
Janil r would '"' can ful to ol
i?. partment'i rlaarl rul
blah and garbage city etoa il be
.a ?i i h< apei In Ihe gai bage pi op
?r that reachea Barren Island I la still
cboul ? pei cenl of rubbish tiiat has to be
? i ai i ? ? t to "ti-.? i iii ol use!
I.? what is left there Is ?ho'it *?? pei
ftbrou - matter, I r? r ? ? <?'?
?,?? r ? ? nt fni'ist ut< I ictlcally all bul
IS Utilize?! St I BS
plant and a fair pr ?Al n
After it he I issed under the last
ler'f ? ?? i h? garbage li ? an led h)
feeders to huge cyll ders, called dig.
Idlng from elgl i to ten <
steam-tight tanks sre sesled hy b<
in?i the ? "'" m- an rooki ?l ?bout
eight houri b) si? am. I. I r? ?I?.? , ?I at *
pressura of ai oui .seventy The
mas? thai comes out 1 ok ?ntry
!.?>!' ? " If- like ap| !? I ? " '
NAPHTHA PERCOLATOR IN WHICH THE SECOND STAGE OF GREASE SEPARATION TAKES PLACE.
CHUTE TO DIGESTERS THROUGH
WHICH THE MASS 13 CARRIED
PREPARATORY TO T.'-IE COOKING
PROCESS.
'liii- i.-, ph.?.-.! in itays, teitli tturlap ?id ?
ami b? ttomi i> minding on? ?( the old?
fuhlonrd "hone: cards" In th beehive?
of grandfather") time? only r?verai titan
larger. Ths-e iny? are r 11 - -. s on ? tar a i<:
tolled under ? !ij ?iratilli* preis, t? express
the water and gi?'its.- It mahs? Oh? Ihlnk
of ?. 11 v- making limn In th* old "?rmhousa
i ai 11' i?. ? .?us?- It'? ???> dltfsnnt
l'.i fomtsd ?guttst ? i? ? ih ? ilul.l. ami
it is ?lowlj earrisd id largs ?tas?n* <<r nts,
?uggsstlve of ens ?f tiie ii- ?all haaiiti
at Mytecpee, only on a smaller ?cal? Ftnet
th ?<? it gradu ? ? ? - ? brfifugh "baf.
fling l?.:.rds." und the gr. a e slowly rises
to the t<*!> Of th ? water
Pump? ?*arrv it to >?"?:> i?:g tanks, where
It la barrelle.l f?>r ?hlpflwnt. Curiously
.?:?. we murket |? fount! la IM? coun?
try f. ; this ITSSSS, so It 1-? ?old I
i'.i Igluiii utilizing? much of MM SUtpUt In
her ?oap making Industrie? ?Bswap? <>f the
Belgian hearing gift? af ?**nt*d soap!
?lent* man ?- .m? rotalned by the v?g*
table matte, oftor the ArM i?-|iarailon by
BUS*, Again th? ivass I? sulj"<t..| t.
great heat In ?yllndilcnl dryers and aftet
ward In hurga drums, where it Is turned
an?l shaken, naphtha Ifl Intro'laed .ni?i
gradually allowed to patxolat* through
Tin- naphtha gbfM ?'?? graggS? It Is
carried to r.n? th?r r? .elving tank, heated.
and in the process leave- the rest of the
?rease free to be larked and barrelled
Then th? nanhtha. after condensation, as?
sumes its former gaseous state, and after
being washed || again used
| By Hi.:, time the vegetable matter which
HYDRAULIC PRESSES THAT SQUEEZE THE GREASE AND MOISTURE
FROM THE BURLAP TRAYS.
we left In Ike revolving Arum* after liai
naphtha bath Is practically free fromi
r- -. it is now returned t? the dryerl
and thence through a ?creen, and corneal
out .. Itak?, m;?..-, Ill;,- f-atliei-s It I- lli.w.l
aftei the drytni procesa useful as a baae
t f' r high grade fertlll'.? r. h".- .use eapabl.? i
Iof absorbing chemical properties essential!
to plant life. Some plants p.1 nitrogen, |
: f??r lnsteo?~0| and ?others other elements.
This vegetable matter is not valuable by
It:? If uliiiie. as It Is only a low grade fer?
tilizer. A ready market Is found for all
: this mat,ila!.
I'roces>e? by with h gaa . I. ctri.-h*.. a:n
! monte and ? tbrr by-pi o!n. t luve i.::
produced directly or Indirectly from garb
ive si fur proved only minor feature*
Of lha System, mainly In the experimental
sir re
So much for the garbage proper. The
??'sli?n and rubl Mi of Manhattan ?"?! Th.?
Prolix ?re received by the . onti u? tors on
si us. which are unloaded . Ither at piker's
? Island <r ut some other fill which th?
; trat lor mm have on lirnd. From ?0 to ffl
i?? ?*ent of this material Is placed in the
? fill at Piker's Inland, which ?o far has
, made complete an additional area of -Ixtv
iht?. snd * half anes. One hundred rn?l
I st-venty-thi-se arres mora ls now being
filled In. This has ?ost ?he city nothing
further than the contract cost for towing
and unloading. This material, of course,
includes only su?-h part of the ashes and
rubbish as -annot be made of other uee.
The remaining 49 or 5*> per cent becomes
the property of the ?-?infractor, to dispose
j of as he sees ft? When th? scow- are
; irl**imed. much material, valuable In the
waste trad?*, can be reclaimed. The site
recetvea a eaah bonus weekly, and ais.,?
nil I lie labin- nSOOSSirj for this work of
trimming; from the contractor, In return
[for Ids riglu to re. Ulm salable waste.
Brooklyn, because of its gtogrupiilcal
conditions, neceasarily has a differ.-nt meth?
od. There the contractor for tlpal disuosi
tion of ash? s and rul blah furnlah?sa thi?
dumping pointe, * porataa tiiem ami takes
the material away In scows or railroad
cars. These stations are furnished with
Incinerator?, n> thai SOU Salable, combusti?
ble wast*- does not go Int.? land !!11. Under
tils contract tin. total amount of tahas
and rubbish Becomes the property of the
contractor. 'This Includes any benefit from
reclamation of salable waste, ami without
any i ortlon going into the fill at Hiker's
blond.
Some idea of the variety ami quantity or
?algbb material found may be gatlu re?!
from ? department teol of ? sample two
thousand cartloads of ashes and rubbish.
?In these two thousand loada Were found
?I'i.OOO pounds of rags, M tons of paper. 10
tons of tin e-ns, 1?2 barrels of broken
glass. 3,Si? empty barrels. 10.700 bottles, 11
t(?ns of old Iron ar.d 2.636 pounds of rubber
and mis?-ellaneo' ? metal..
The paper and rag? go to the paper ?to, k
trade and are used In the making of paper
board. Tin cans are dtsoldared and ,1.*
tlnned The solder Is used again tfo ls
the tin. In making poor quality tin ?ans.
Lately the Improved methods of can manu?
facturing reduce flk ?"?? solder, oo that
this lorm of reclamation la growing lesa
profitable After the detinnlng and de
solderlng the can* are rolled into sheets.
UNLOADING A SCOW AT BARREN
ISLAND.
?from which .buttons aie punched out Whteh
are s"ld for WS?h*n to he used In nailing
I build ?*', pal M Whau v. ? i left is
am an?! used in making ?ash
weights. often the sheets a?*e use! f? r
making tilling for the walls of fireproof or
buralarproof safes. It Is especially valu?
able for this purpose because of the num?
ber ? f laminatl.ins.
Milk bottles and other registered bottles,
according to law, ate the property of the
M w hnse names are blown on them.
B ' 'hey have to be rtclaimed by the own?
ers tor a considerable pi Ice. What becomes
Of the other bottles and breken glat?s? If
they are a good eo'.i r they are remette?* and
reblown. If not. they "an be troken up
Th* an Klein! tile an : stone frequently
?? ? n are largely r?mi| ?ised of these crushed
?nt*.
\u empty castoff barrel in the hands ?>f
ti.?- gfl ert is a barrel for not ? y.
He knows he can sell It. The commission
merchanU offer a read?/ market, tor they
find ?hese l.a.-rcl.-. useful in tigt**tbutlag
v. ..?? ?a' |
LOW gr.-.itv castings ?re another f.?rm
taken .'>>' old iioii that Is assorted and sold
t?i manufactur* rs of ?***oda ..f ttiat Quality.
li. the economy of the household a bone
Isii t of any particular velue. ****** vi h?n ma
e.i.isi.'er th.it fifty tons of bones are found
??very week in ibe household aslies and
i iMMsh. ara? ii.ai fr.'.??-. pearly is pal?! for
privilege ?>f picking them from the
ashes and rubMsb <n??t yatbeae ptepot) '*?
Manhattan an 1 The Bronx, bones seem te
. ' sume ?importance.
It Isn't from the garbage pail al?.n?* that
material Is recl.1lr.1ed The housshoM ash
from 'he ordinary heater or the ki'.ehen
range teceives careful stu.lv. Of thl*? atiout
?ty per cent can be reclai iie.1 as l.urnsbl?
material. The city is collectlnn vearly In
the nelgiiborliood of three-?iuait?rs tt ?
million tons of this ash. To utilise it the
coarse materials are washed out from the
fine and then passed through n se.tes of
?crew?, tlwribv grading reparately the
? link? is, partially burned coal and g?>?"l
coal. Two dollars a ton Is ?abl to be about
the cost of re?*!aliiilng this ash, which has
a heating value of 50 per o? nt at **? v?9i
nail costs less than half as much.
It Is said that ashes from the Kast Bide
contain often as iilgii as 45 per cent of
burnable co*l? the highst pesaoniag* )><in?i
In summer. Why this high rate of wasto
among the poor? Because the stoves fur
Blshad the tuiv-ment dwellers are of ths
aptkrus mob's that make economy out of
t!,?? ?ri.'stlon.
After the usable eonl has been nssoited
the ash remaining still has value. An SS*
c.'.l.nt and fairly eheap plant food Is ob?
talaed by the a.ldttlon of ehemleals. ?*
ashes have an absorbing P********* reaching a*
high as 123 per cent. Fine ash, too, I?
valuable for making high grade Portland
eem-ant, by the addition Of lime and other
???instituent.-?. Coarse ash may be reiiueed
by grinding. A great dial of fin? ?*h I*
eoii'.biued with ?ommon brick day? and
burned, thus making a very ?aiiafa-.terjr
paving brick, produced at minimum eo**.
Ornamental tile is ala > made from this
material.
Contractors engaged in ?id?w&llt or ?lnrJ*
Continued ?a fiftb pa**?