SEWEREGE FARMS MAY BREED DISEASE AND DEATH

NZ Truth, Issue 1103, 20 January 1927, Page 1

SEWEREGE FARMS MAY BREED DISEASE AND DEATH

H HE place where the tai, hear Miramar, ' is nothing more or That, really, is the only reason why "N.Z. Truth" dares to point out the fact and demand the immediate abolition of the system. What will the answer be? Just a little past Kilbirnie on the main road towards Miramar''-and* Seatoun, with plenty of new houses adjacent, can be seen a number of dingy red buildings erected on the sandhills. A couple of these are where the hotmix Is made for Wellington's wonderful roads. Another' houses that marvellous : invention, the City Council's rubbish "masticator." This is merely a costly mechanical chewer whicHT grinds up the rubbish a bit smaller T than when it enters the hungry , maw. .Alas, it is not a digester. 1 What it disgorges is the same; evil-smelling muck that has "gone through," and this, m a nutshell, is the stuff which has been spread out along the sand not far away from human habitation. UNHYG-ENIC AND CRUDE Naturally, on hot days the flies.come home to roost, just like the City Council chickens will do when .they have taken a tumble to the crass stupidity and absolutely unhygienic nature of this silly, unsafe and crude system of rubbish disposal. _y , Whether it is a manure manufactory, an ;exnerimental garbage plot or merelya joke is beside the question. ."• The.point is that it is dangerous and ilTiTimtmmimimimiitimrririf.imtmtmfiiritittrmmtMftnrmmimmmitiminfimimttiMtitimiriira (ttiiiititiiniiuiiiiiiiiiiitiiiutiliiititiiiiiiniiiiniMiiMitMtiMiiiMiiitiiiiiiiiitiniitiiiiiiiftiititiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiit I I j j i i i ' | , \ , ] | i i 1 1 i < i

WINGED HORDES NLAR RESIDENTIAL AREAS

Wellington City Council Violates Its Own "Health Week" Slogan

COME CLEANSE THAT AUGEAN STABLE

''.■''. (From "N:Z Truth's" Special Wellington Representative.) ~ :>'• .Tyy?;. In the near future a number of people near Miramar may die of deadly disease. -Some of the victims may be little ...children. Then a vigilant somebody will discover that the train of death commenced at the place where the City Council ''masticates "^a lot of y rubbish. and spreads it out most a ppetisingly for, every, disease-carrier on wings. Then, too, when someone has really Tdied, the City ,, Council, may find some other way of getting rid of its rubbish. Who knows? Besides, fUes niust breed somewhere/ so why not within a hundred yards or two of the residential area of Rpngotai? "* '"■/ ■■":. 1 ;Of coutfse, it is not a.nice subject at any time, andthe conventional atmosphere of lavender and_ *"" —^ - 1 ™ — old laceTwhich is to be found m some of the other municipal departments is lacking. Coming^ as if does : when the "W-CiCT catch phrase, "Health Week" is still supposed to be ringing m the air, it repeals a comparison that' is not only odious but odorous. 1 ' . '- .""'.'"'.■..' ' _■; .'.:' ;^'.." ■: « . '■-... ■■■■■' ■' - '- '■■

the "plant" should be immediately scrapped. ' ~ .'■■■■■■ : . As it is, the people m the locality cannot combat the fly nuisance. Every form of "swatter," fly-catcher and. fume killer has been resorted to without complete success. As fast as the flies are exterminated fresh battalions are' coming up m the rear. Besides, the fly-swatting occupation,, apart from its possible appeal to the sporting instinct, is costly, as one bottle of a' certain mixture at half a crown a time Is usually- used m a. day m the hot weather m order to secure peace. When "N.Z. Truth" representativevisited Rongotai the weather was only mild, and not hot, but there was abundant evidence of the fact that the place was an Augean stable whioh immediately called for a Hercules to cleanse and purify. • \ Where the masticated rubbish had dried, on- ; the- . surface fit'), was!' hot. : so te^iei^t^^k^fe mixture was turned over there was evidence ofTlife.'th^iyihg on. the splendid ' treatment. T Millions of tiny flies, presumably the future knights of the buzz and/ the bother, found happiness in 1 their mucky revel before departing to some child's cot to flutter over the tiny innocent lips. But; the winged pestilence was more marked where .'the mixture from the home-dwellers' garbage tins had just

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been Jaid out. Not millions • hovered hi birds and audacious down ' surreptitious]

. feasts. A littledisinfectant would have conduced to at least, a - tolerable observation. , 1 ' W h,i 1 c "N.Z. Truth's" representative was standing outside the little masticator shed., two carts fresh (?) from the rubbish rounds of Hataitai and .Kilbirnie deposited their evilsmelling load. This comprised rotten fruit, stale loaves and cakes,, meat ' and . -Veg.e. il St<^eß^fet^J^p?B»^J form . of- garbage . l generally. This small mountain of ' rubbish was diminish- . ed by feeding it m to the masticator's mouth, and after it had been ground up it became the ■'. scientifically treated stun! that was

only flies m their sre,' but- timorous seagulls swooped ly for frequent

strewn out about six inches deep over the adjacent sandhills. The process is interesting, even if it has its drawbacks to the unseasoned

onlooker. . The most interesting thing, that presents itself to; the lay! mind, "how ever, is the process of reasoning 'by which the powers that be came to the decision to spread out the house garbage so near to human habitation.'. Indeed, there is a school that very well might be affected when the really hot weather ;comes7;roundy 'T - 'T Hi Ji'oTT^Tubb.iishT the city area is , biirhe'd; and .. incineration is the ;; only way to destroy ve.r mi nbreeding food and mortifying vegetables and meat. But why' not do the same with the, rubbish that is collected m the

eastern suburbs, such, as Hataitai . and. Kilbirnie? ; 7. If the present destructor isnot bit enough— it was supposed, to -be "big enough for all future requirements' when it was . reconstructed the. besl part of= sixteen or seven teen age -^fit would be stupid T and uneconomic to delay procuring the necessary plant No expenditure, provided it is judiciously -' and sertsibly, incurred, should i'be blinked at when the direct health oi the community ; is very -vitally concerned. . '" /. ■:. ./'.'. ■■: \y --''}y : '. f-i- The Wellington City, ! - Council could yery soon transport : all the rubbish from the eastern suburbs to. the de-r structor m Clyde Quay -if , this latter place was capable of taking it all. , , ". If it^ Js not, .then/ the .'sooner yt 'is made so' the better. : ■'■■■'<"."■■ ...,-■ As thing's, are at pifesent, no amount of explanation can .justify what actually exists, . namely, a city sewerage farm which would be a disgrace twe ot; three miles from ' residential area's let alone a .hundred ' or two hundred yards' away. .••'TT'-' /' -T : '/ .; ,lt is just/this sort <of thin^ thilat-' ArWakesT ;!?Heaiil.T \Vjeek^T ;? slogari^7 T.The7City Council's own sweet regula.ti6ns'do. nob permit a householder to have fowls "within ascertain area of his habitation, nor do they permit domestic pig-styes , too close to/ where humans eat, live and sleep. This body itself, however, m pristine glory, thrusts a dirty, diseaßebreeding fever pit — a. direct danger to the health of children and adults, as well as being a, depided inconvenience by way of the fly nuisance— on the

r suffering local community of Kongotai and -the wide radius of residential i sjpaqe^ easily covered by flies. : y While we must think m ternis of rates when we dwell, for a moment on what rubbish disposal means, there are certain other features of Rongotai' that provide food for thought. '.*-■■ Whkn exception was taken to the •dumping of fish refuse there, it was discontinued, but . .what - other refuse has been taken to Rongotai to be destroyed? ' '■ ; , CONUNDRUMS A pile of motor tyres lay m a heap, the savage victims of benzine and a match. .One or two' tyres which escaped; the flames were, to the layman, ibrahdnew. Not a, blemish on the' big bulk of rubber was perceptible" except that .mischievous children were gleefully, hacking with pocket-knives at the substance. , : .What was 'wrong with ; these 7 tyres?, Were" they condemned or— : at any rate there" they were m ' y ashes for some reason or other. Probably the biggest illustration of the .ada&e; that "fools, rush m where angels fear to tread" • was the 'frightful and inexcusable waste; of tar or, pitch. Hundreds of . tins of tar or pitch of some; sort, dumped' on the sandhills, have, leaked their valuable contents ajvay on the sand. T T N?,ver |a thought, apparently, • ■ has been bestowed as to the ad - y ; yisiabi!ity of rigging up a wooden T '7 platform upon which to rest these, 'barrels or to save the \, appalling ywi^ste incurred by the leaktfger ; ;■ . Truly, the City Council Fool, rushes blindly'in where the Private Enterprise Angelf ears to tread.. . ; > AnyT way, what's' a few modest thousand • pounds to the ever -running stream of public 'affluence that can be .so. easily tapped at random when the 'welMs ruhiiing a tiit dry? •