MODERN METHODS OF STREET CLEANING 



Ashes from steam plants are best collected in a mois- 

 tened condition. 



The term cinder and clinker are rarely used in Ameri- 

 can cities and generally signify the solid residue from 

 the combustion of fuel. 



The term dust, commonly employed in Great Britain 



to mean what Americans understand by the word refuse, 



may consist of street sweepings and mixed 



The Handling 



of Dust and household and trade refuse. To Americans 

 the term dust means finely divided refuse of 

 any kind, so long as it is in a dry state and capable of 

 being carried through the air in the form of fine particles. 

 Dust is most easily handled by first wetting it, as ex- 

 plained elsewhere. It should and can be largely pre- 

 vented from becoming distributed over the surface of 

 the pavements. 



Dirt is a term of the widest application in sanitary 

 science, but in scavenging it is generally employed to 

 mean earth or material resembling it. When dirt is 

 wet it becomes mud; when dry and agitated by the 

 wind it is dust. Street dirt is easiest to remove from 

 pavements when slightly damp, provided it is present 

 in large quantities or in masses. When present 

 in small quantities and widely distributed, it is most 

 easily removed when thoroughly wet. It is most diffi- 

 cult to remove when of the consistency of putty. 



Cellar dirt is a term officially employed in New York 

 City to mean earth and bricks, spent mortar, and mis- 

 cellaneous refuse originating chiefly from the construc- 

 tion and demolition of houses. It is useful for raising 

 the level of low-lying lands, but in New York most of 

 it is barged out to sea and dumped. 



Street sweepings is refuse collected from the streets 



38 



