FAT FOR BRITAIN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 138, 23 March 1948, Page 2

FAT FOR BRITAIN

Borough Council Debate

CAMPAIGN DISCUSSED A motion that the Ashburton Borough Council place containers for fat on rubbish, carts, in order to help in the collection of fats for Britain, was carried after considerable discussion at last night's meeting of the council.

Cr. K. L. Anderson asked whore the fat collected went to, the Mayor (Air E. C. Bathurst) replying that it went to the soapworks.

Cr. H. E. .McElrea said that at a recent conference of die Associated Chambers of Commerce at Dunedin it had been decided to change the wording of a. remit congratulating the Government, on its success in collecting fat for Britain to the National Council of Aid for Britain, because it was nol thought politically proper to congratulate a government on collecting fat for £45 a ton and selling it at £125 to India.

Cr. Anderson said that at the Rotary conference in Dunedin he iiad heard of a man who collected fat himself. rendered it down, labelled it clearly in tins and forwarded it directly to the Ministry of Foood in Britain. The fat was edible and he considered that it served a more useful purpose than going to a soap factory at 2d a lb.

The Mayor said that much of the fat collected in the Ashburton district, was not edible. It had, in any case, to be rendered properly. Cr. S. Alitehell said he considered that 60 per cent, of the fats collected in the Ashburton district was edible. Mr R. C. Major (Town Clerk) said that it had been suggested that some of the fat collected went to India. The fat or tallow may have been sent; there to release cotton for .England/ In most districts, except Dunedin, the inedible fat collected was sent to the soap works. The fat was not properly rendered when collected, and a lot'of fat received in England had been tainted. Sending fat to the soap factory would release good fat from the freezing works for England. A considerable amount of fat was being wasted on farms ailck recently q lady had told him that she was feeding fat to her fowls. It was better to send fat to the soap works at 2d a lb than feed it to the .fowls. Cr. Coldicott stated that if the matter was cleared up, more farmers would he behind the scheme. At present they thought, so much “graft” was going on that they were not bothering to collect fat. If the matter of where the fat, was going could he cleared up satisfactorily, farmers would come forward and support the scheme. The Deputy-Mayor <(Cr. A. A. AicDonald) thought that the main idea was to get as much fat as possible. The councillors were getting mixed up in something they knew nothing about.

Cr. McElrea said that the question was-mixed up with stabilisation. If (lie Government really wanted the fat for Britain they would pay a decent price for it. However, they did not want the price of fat to go up. The Mayor expressed the opinion that no one was wanting to make money out of collecting the fat. The good fat was sent home, and the inedible fat wont to the soap factory. The 2d per lb would assist in, the Aid to Britain campaign. The men on the National Aid to Britain Council were doing a. wonderful job, and lie felt they knew what they were doing. He had met Mr F. P. Walsh, chairman of the committee, and had thought him a very capable and shrewd person.

The motion, as stated above, was then put and carried without dissent.