SALVAGING WASTE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 213, 8 September 1943, Page 2

SALVAGING WASTE

RAGS, PAPER, RUBBER

PATRIOTIC FUND BENEFITS It is morning on an anti-aircraft outpost. "Detachments rear!" orders the officer of the day, and the gunners race to the gun-pits. The guns are lined up, a half hour s gun drill is gone through, and the order is given to rest. "Carry on with cleaning and maintenance," comes from the command post. That starts a rush for the box of rags. With a rag in his hand, a gunner is safe. He can leave the dismantling of'the biet,ch black to the No. 1 of the crew He can leav.e all the problems to No. 1, m fact. With a piece of rag mhis hand, he feels armed against officei intrusion. This is a typical scene on many an anti-aircraft station. A crew of sturdy, bronzed, young New Zealanders clambering all over a gun, diving into unlikely cm'ners after dust, polishing brass until it sparkles in the sun—very industrious, And never a thought to spare for the humble piece of rag, without wnicn | q gunner's life would be nothing. True, when there are no rags argu- ' ments break over the heads of the j crew and there is squabbling. J3ut j mostly, the rag is ignored Few know the story behind these rags, and few seem to care. The provision of rags is one of the important wartime jobs of the waste paper depot in Albert Street, Auckland. Here, nine men employed fulltime sort out and bundle up waste. Anything of value is put aside. Rags are washed, dried and sent to naval and anti-aircraft stations; good books are rescued and magazines are sent to military hospitals.

Miscellaneous Waste The depot is quite a large affair, extending from St. Patrick's Square to Albert Street. On the ground floor, piles of paper appear and disappear as loads arrive and the men compress them into bales. To the depot come eight or nine full loads a day. Waste of all descriptions tumbles in, mostly paper—soft paper, hard paper, newsprint, books, cardboard, bound ledger volumes, stacks of dockets—paper of every possible kind.

The foreman says the men do a wonderful job. It takes them a quarter of an hour to make up a bale of paper, this from the time the base of soft paper goes into the stitching of the seams. Shortly, they hope to reduce the time by using a new pressing machine. Driven by electricity, this machine will compress the paper into solid blocks that can bo easily transported by rail to the paper mills. Paper Mainstay of Depot At present, they use a wool press. Baling paper with this is much the same as baling wool. They tumble paper into the boxes, one of the pair working on a bale, jumping up and down on the paper until it is reasonably compressed. Then they pull on a'length of rope and one box clamps down on the other. Then the pressure is applied. A bale weighs from 3 to SJcwt.

Although paper is the mainstay pf the depot, anything in the way of waste is accepted. "We particularly want toothpaste tubes," the foreman said. Asked what could be made from these, he said he didn't know, but, it was something important to do with the Air Force. Receptacles in chemist shops were there for the purpose of receiving these tubes. Three dozen of them were melted down by an Auckland resident the other Week to produce a block of metal weighing nearly 12oz. An official said it would comprise 70 per cent tin. Many Books Rescued One of the surprising things about the depot is the number of apparently good books thrown out— thrown out by householders, that is. The men at the depot set themselves the task of collecting all text-books and novels and allotting them to another branch of the patriotic committee's activities. A result of this is that anybody with the time to spare could study impressive - looking volumes. A Government pamphlet on cider--making says that "comparatively few people in this country realise what a delicious beverage wellprepared light cider is." and goes on to explain the method of manufacturing cider. A plea for rubber is backed up with posters with the information that "11 golf balls equal the rubber for a gas mask," "75 pairs of tennis shoes equals one tyre and tube for a Beaufort Bomber," and "160 ft of garden hose equals the rubber for a tank wheel." In the year ended March 31, the Patriotic Fund benefited by £9386 as a result of waste material conserved, The Auckland Province's contribution was £2102. Between the rags on anti-aircraft stations and these figures lies the story of the wastepaper depots and the work they do. It is work to assist victory.