holder. It reduces the possibility of disagreeable 
odors developing, either in the containers or during 
collection and disposal, and it makes the garbage 
less accessible to flies. Corrosion of cans is re- 
duced, and washing is required less frequently. 
Since cans are more easily emptied when garbage 
is wrapped, the likelihood of can rims being dam- 
aged is greatly reduced. If the containers are filled 
only loosely, the contents do not freeze or stick to 
the inside, thus further lessening the likelihood of 
damage to can rims during emptying. 
Draining, wrapping, and loose packing of gar- 
bage has benefits for the city, too. It reduces the 
time required for crews to empty cans and makes 
the task less disagreeable for these workers. When 
disposal is by incineration, this type of treatment 
greatly facilitates burning; and when disposal is at 
a sanitary landfill, the drained and wrapped garbage 
creates less odor and is less attractive to flies. 
If hog feeding is the local practice for the dis- 
posal of garbage, wrapping is undesirable from the 
point of view of the feeder. Draining, however, is 
highly desirable for storage and collection pur- 
poses, and it is simple for the feeder to add the 
necessary amount of water to gain the right con- 
sistency during the cooking process. Obviously, 
when hog feeding is the method of garbage dis- 
posal, rubbish and nonedible garbage must be 
separated from edible garbage and an additional 
method of disposal provided. Combined storage of 
nonedible garbage and household rubbish would be 
advisable provided approved containers were used. 
Even if household rubbish is separated and stored 
apart from garbage, it should be stored as garbage, 
for many items such as discarded cans, bottles and 
papers have adhering to them a film or fragments 
of organic matter, which will attract flies and rats 
and furnish them limited food. 
Rubbish often comprises the major portion of 
accumulated wastes. Much of it is combustible, 
hence can constitute a real fire hazard when not 
disposed of promptly. Since many items are so 
bulky, e.g., cardboard boxes, magazines and news- 
papers, tree limbs, old furniture, and large metal 
containers, they are difficult to handle unless 
proper precollection preparation is effected. Such 
items should be disassembled and tied in bundles 
or otherwise reduced to a size and weight that can 
be handled by one man. Ordinarily, bundles should 
not weigh more than about SO pounds and their 
length should not exceed 4 feet (this length may 
vary, depending on the size of the collection 
vehicles in use). Rubbish that has not been proper- 
ly prepared often is left behind by collection 
crews, thus providing harborage for rats or breed- 
ing places for mosquitoes. 
Shortly before collection time, the bulky rub- 
bish, properly prepared, should be placed adjacent 
to refuse containers at the point of collection. 
In many areas, this type of refuse is collected 
separately on a less frequent schedule than other 
refuse and must be placed for collection on the 
designated day. 
Containers 
Garbage cans should be: (1) water tight, (2) pro- 
vided with a tight fitting lid, (3) rust resistant, 
(4) structurally strong to withstand handling stress, 
(5) easily filled, emptied, and cleaned, (6) of a 
size that when full can be conveniently handled by 
one man, and (7) furnished with side handles or a 
bail. The conventional heavy-duty galvanized 
garbage can with the recessed bottom most nearly 
fits these recommendations. Each home or estab- 
lishment should have a sufficient number of these 
containers to hold all the refuse that accumulates 
between collections. Hope, (27) found that most 
communities favored containers of 20- to 30-gallon 
capacity. For garbage, when collected separately, 
5- to 12-gallon containers are frequently used. 
Some communities limit the combined weight of 
container and contents to about 65 pounds. 
Sunken garbage cans have the advantage of 
being out of sight, impossible to overturn, and 
inaccessible to dogs and cats. They provide some 
protection from summer heat and winter freezing. 
Their disadvantages include: (1) the pit is difficult 
to keep clean, (2) greater lifting effort is required 
of collection personnel, (3) the method is not 
suitable when ground water is high, or rainfall is 
heavy, (4) maintenance cost for hinges and cover 
is high, and (5) initial cost is high. Generally, the 
disadvantages outweigh the advantages. 
Bulk storage containers are usually quite satis- 
factory at apartment buildings, housing projects, or 
business establishments. Commercial firms pro- 
duce movable bulk containers of various sizes that 
are efficient and serviceable. If desired, these 
containers can be hauled directly to the point of 
disposal, emptied, and returned by a specially 
designed truck-mounted hoist. However, new 
methods that do not require the transportation of 
each individual container to the disposal site have 
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