REFUSE HANDLING 
IN THE SMALL COMMUNITY 
AND FRINGE AREAS 
Many small towns and the fringe residential 
areas of our larger cities have no organized refuse 
collection service. Usually the service is avail- 
able on an individual basis from private contrac- 
tors, but coverage is incomplete and disposal 
frequently is uncontrolled. The conditions that 
result are conducive to insect and rodent 
production. 
Premise storage is often below average because 
of inadequate facilities and poor maintenance. 
Frequently there is no community organization to 
promote good refuse storage. Occasionally, the 
schedules of collectors are unreliable, with the 
result that storage facilities become overloaded. 
Consequently, fly breeding material and rat food 
and harborage are likely to be available in greater 
amounts than in towns and areas where local con- 
trol of storage and collection is exercised, or in 
areas where populations are less concentrated. 
Disposal is an especially troublesome problem 
in small towns and fringe areas. Persons not sub- 
scribing to private collection service dispose of 
their own refuse. Frequently the refuse is dumped 
along some back road, or even along a major high- 
way, within flight range of the community for the 
flies that it will breed and within migration range 
for the rats which may become established. This 
litter provokes an adverse aesthetic response 
from travelers and responsible citizens. 
The solution to this problem in small communi- 
ties probably lies in activating public interest to 
promote better refuse handling, and in governmen- 
tal regulation, if not actual participation. 
A good example of how the problem may be 
satisfactorily solved is illustrated in highly popu- 
lated fringe areas of a large eastern city. Here col- 
lection service is provided by the local Sanitary 
Commission, which also provides water and sewer- 
age facilities. Adequate disposal is accomplished 
at one incinerator and several sanitary landfills. 
Some small adjacent sections in this area have 
private collection service, but the collectors are 
required to haul the refuse to approved disposal 
sites. Incorporated towns in the area that have 
their own collection service deliver their refuse 
to the Sanitary Commission’s disposal facility that 
is nearest them and are billed monthly. Another 
adjoining county with few incorporated towns but 
numerous highly populated areas has refuse collec- 
tion service provided by the county commissioners 
under contract. The contracts are contingent on the 
county health officer’s approval of collection 
equipment and disposal method. Some counties 
have operated sanitary landfill disposal areas 
using equipment and personnel of the county high- 
way department. 
Numerous small towns have refuse collection 
service provided by a local contractor who serves 
on a part-time basis and uses his vehicle for other 
activities on non-collection days. The refuse is 
hauled to the nearest approved disposal site where 
it may be deposited for a small fee or for no fee at 
all. Some smaller towns may operate their own 
sanitary landfills. For their use, medium-weight 
equipment which is capable of carrying out all 
phases of landfill operation in a satisfactory 
manner is available at a cost that is not prohibi- 
tive. Good used equipment has frequently solved a 
small town’s problem. 
In some localities, two or three small adjacent 
communities have given one individual or company 
a contract to collect in their towns. Relatively 
long-term contrac _ to serve several towns might 
justify the contractor’s purchasing compactor-type 
collection equipment. The towns may then locate 
a landfill site approximately equidistant between 
them and share the expense of acquisition and 
operation in proportion to the population served. 
The problem of refuse handling in small commu- 
nities and fringe areas may be resolved by determi- 
nation and interest of citizen groups and officials 
devoted to the health and welfare of the community. 
There is much information available on the subject 
for guidance, and competent consultation may be 
obtained from State and local health department 
personnel. Fxperience, resourcefulness, origi- 
nality, cooperation, and perseverance have solved 
similar problems for many communities. 
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